July 4 (Reuters) - Suncor Energy ( SU ) has shut down

its 215,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Firebag oil sands site in

northern Alberta as a precaution due to a wildfire about eight

kilometres (5 miles) away, an Alberta government minister said

on social media on Thursday.

Suncor, Canada's second-largest oil producer, said it was

keeping only essential workers at the facility, which lies

roughly 100 kilometres northeast of the oil sands hub of Fort

McMurray.

The company declined to comment on whether Firebag

production had been affected.

"An emergency-response team is monitoring the situation

closely and prepared to take further action if necessary," a

Suncor spokesperson said in a statement.

"There is no risk to our other operations or the Firebag

airport at this time."

Alberta's Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen said

Firebag had been shut down on Wednesday night out of caution.

There are more than 60 fires across Alberta and officials

have rated the danger in the province's north as very high to

extreme, he added.

Weather forecasts show an extended period of hot weather

will settle over Western Canada in the coming days, with

temperatures expected to exceed 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees

Fahrenheit) by next week.

Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and more

than two-thirds of its 5 million bpd of crude comes from

Alberta's oil sands.