(Photo: This used to be a housing complex in Abasand located across the street from Ecole Boreal School, Abasand was one of two areas toured by media on May. 9, 2016 just days after the wildfire. Bradley Karp / REPORTER. Copyright Rogers Media.)
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Re-entry plan to return will be finalized in two weeks
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Fire Chief Darby Allen “I am not a hero”
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Fire continues to burn near Saskatchewan border
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Residents need to register with Red Cross
Return to Fort McMurray “weeks away”
In two weeks time Fort McMurray residents will have a clearer picture on when they will be able to return home but it will still be weeks away.
Premier Rachel Notley visited Fort McMurray Monday afternoon and got a first hand look at the destruction caused by the wildfire that ripped through parts of the city this week.
“I was very much struck by the power of the devastation by the fire, it was quite over whelming in some spots” said Notely to members of the media who also received a brief tour of parts of the city.
Notley said roughly 10 per cent of the city was lost compared to 30 per cent during the 2011 fire in Slave Lake. In total, 2,400 structures were lost and 25,000 were saved including the hospital, municipal buildings and all functioning schools.
“The city was surrounded by an ocean of fire only a few days ago but Fort McMurray and the surrounding communities have been saved and they will be rebuilt,” said Notley. “All of Alberta will have your back until this work has been completed.”
No one is allowed back into the city as smoldering hot spots and active fire suppression continues. The Premier said a re-entry plan and schedule to return will be finalized in two weeks time.
“A re-entry plan needs to be completed, including a security plan, a welcome centre, a transport plan and provision for food and supplies. First responders and repair crews have weeks of work ahead of them to make the city safe for the people of Fort McMurray and the surrounding communities,” said Notley.
Fire Chief Darby Allen said stage one of the damage assessment evaluation has been completed and a thorough evaluation of all infrastructure still needs to be done. There remains parts of the city that have no power, water or gas and in order for residents to return, those necessities need to back up and running.
“We have had our loss, we do have our resilience and I have absolute faith that we will have our community back,” said Mayor Melissa Blake. “I want to tell you that we will be back soon but it may not be as soon as any of us would like but I will tell you that we have some of the best people right here in Wood Buffalo working on our behalf.”
“I am not a hero”
“The word that begins with ‘H’ has been associated with my name, I would state quite clearly that this fire is nothing about me, this is about the hundreds and hundreds of people who came here and helped us and supported us who did incredible work,’ said RMWB Fire Chief Darby Allen. “I don’t want this to be about that ‘H’ word and Darby Allen, I want us to recognize the true heroes who are within our community.”
Allen mentioned a firefighter who watched his own house burn to the ground and instead of dropping his hose, he saved his neighbours home from burning and he continued to fight the fire for 22 straight hours until he could no longer stand.
He also mentioned Dale Bendfeld, the acting director of community services and policing for Wood Buffalo who has been one of his right hand men throughout all of this. When the fire began in Anzac, Bendfeld was alone, and he safely evacuated 450 people in two hours, “that is true heroism.”
“This was a significant fire, it’s an unprecedented fire in regards to the rate it spread, how it involved the community and I truly believe nothing else could’ve been done that wasn’t done to protect the people and the structures within our city,” said Allen.
He thanked the entire community for their support and for their cooperation throughout the evacuation. He said that was the only way emergency services were able to evacuate 88,000 people with no injuries.
Wildfire continues to burn
The wildfire continues to grow in size but is moving away from the city. As of Monday, the fire is 204,000 hectares and is burning 25-30 kilometres from the Saskatchewan border.
Wildfire Manager Chad Morrison said cooler temperatures in the coming days will allow firefighters to get closer to the fire and hold the line.
There are over 700 firefighters on scene with another 300 on the way from across the country.
There are currently 20 helicopters, 27 air tankers, and 46 pieces of dozers and heavy equipment battling the fire. Crews have had success putting in dozer and fire guard to the north as well as near Anzac and Gregoire Estates to the south.
“I’ve never seen anything like this and I spoke to my colleagues from forestry and many of the fire conditions and the way the fire behaved, no one had ever seen anything like this,” said Allen. “This fire is rewriting the book, the way this thing happened, the way it traveled, the way it behaved so they’re writing their formulas on the way fires behave based on this fire.”
Red Cross
For residents who have yet to register with the Red Cross you can do so by calling 1-888-350-6070 or by visiting their website and registering online.
Premier Notley said numbers have indicated that there are 30,000 evacuees in Edmonton, 5,000 in Calgary, 2,000 in Lac La Biche and another 25,000 who have yet to state where they are staying.
