All evacuations have been lifted, along with the local state of emergency.
But Emergency crews have one more problem to manage, after the repaired Firebag River Bridge broke again earlier this afternoon.
Fire Chief Darby Allen gave an update on the condition.
“It looked fantastic, and then Mother Nature just kept coming down there and that north side has eroded again, and got to such a state that now the bridge is impassible,” he said.
He estimates about 18 people are still stranded.
“It seems clear to me at this time that there doesn’t seem much point in trying to rebuild that with the erosion rate going on the way it is, I think we may be looking at a plane or a helicopter situation where we’re just going to go get those people out of there,” he said.
He says that rescuing them today is the most important thing, even if they have to leave behind vehicles that won’t get recovered they can get across the river.
June 17, 2013
