A wildfire burning huge tracts of tinder-dry northern Alberta forest spread last week despite the efforts of an army of firefighters, and meteorologists predicted little change in the hot, windy weather that has fanned the blaze. The inferno, which forced the evacuation of a small community, has grown by about 16 percent in the past two days to 1,400 square km (540.6 square miles), an area roughly 1-3/4 times that of New York City, officials said.