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One resident of
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Rachel Notley said the fire was still on the move, with more communities, including the airport area, in danger.
Fire services said the high winds and hot temperatures would make Wednesday an "even worse day" than Tuesday.
Some 80,000 residents have been evacuated, with no injuries reported.
The blaze broke out south-west of the city on Sunday. Firefighters appeared to have a measure of control by Tuesday until a drastic wind shift overwhelmed them.
'Come out stronger'
Ms Notley said that the fire had moved north and east across the city and that if the winds behaved as predicted, the blaze would move into the Thickwood and Timberlea communities, as well as the area around the airport.
Fire officials said the size of the blaze was now 7,500 hectares (29 sq miles) and it was being tackled by 100 firefighters, with efforts focused on downtown, the Gregoire area and the airport.
Wednesday would "again create explosive conditions", they said.
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Children are buckled into a car for a speedy evacuation
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Fuel is handed out to evacuees. There is none left in
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Help from the army and air force is being sent to Fort McMurray but may take two days to arrive.
The chief of Fort McMurray's fire department, Darby Allen, said: "It's a nasty, ugly fire and it's not showing any forgiveness."
He said staff had worked through the night and all structural fires within the city had been extinguished, although some wooded areas remained ablaze.
The Beacon Hill suburb was said to have lost 80% of its homes. A CTV reporter there said there was almost nothing left. "It's just blocks and blocks of soot, basically," she said.
Serious losses were also reported in Abasand and Waterway. One street in Timberlea lost a dozen trailer homes.
A terrifying experience: Szymon Bicz, eyewitness
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"I'm on the road to Edmonton, after managing to escape Fort McMurray in a hurry. It's chaos here. Everyone has been advised to evacuate immediately. The roads are gridlocked.
The smoke was really overpowering. It was a terrifying experience. I was at work listening to the radio for updates, where they were saying it was contained initially.
Then it spread really rapidly. I drove back to my house and grabbed my passport and some clothes and started driving out of town with a colleague. My family have not moved over yet from the UK.
The thick black smoke was closing in and surrounded the car. People were driving up on paths and grass verges just to get out of there. I'm hoping my rented house is still intact but I just don't know.
The whole region is at risk. It's absolutely catastrophic, but people here are big-hearted. Volunteers on the highway to Edmonton are giving food and water as required."
The Alberta premier, who is expecting to arrive in Fort McMurray later on Wednesday, said the downtown area was at present mostly unaffected.
She praised Albertans for helping neighbours in need.
"We will get through this and we will come out stronger on the other side," she said.
Unseasonably high temperatures and strong winds have combined with dry conditions to leave much of Alberta and neighbouring Saskatchewan under an extreme fire risk warning.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would send military aircraft to help if they were needed.
He said: "We all have to work together to come to the aid and support of people who are experiencing terrible tragedies, losing their homes, their jobs and everything they own."
 @JustinTrudeau
Fort McMurray is a major centre of Canada's oil sands industry - with vast oil reserves - and a major evacuation of staff was ordered.
Suncor Energy said its main plant was so far safe but crude production was being cut.
Shell Canada said it was opening its camp to evacuees.
Canada Post has suspended all deliveries to Fort McMurray.
 Fort McMurray: Canada's 'manliest' city
On its tourism website, Fort McMurray describes itself as the "gateway to the north" - a region which is home to the third largest reserves of oil in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
It may be remote, but Fort McMurray's proximity to Canada's rich oil sands has helped it to become a hugely prosperous place, drawing oil workers from across the world.
It is not strictly speaking a city, but such has become Fort McMurray's importance in the region that it is commonly referred to as one.
Canada's National Post called Fort McMurray 'Canada's manliest city' where men outnumber women by roughly three to two.
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