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Re-entry under way in Abasand and Beacon Hill

Last Updated Sep 1, 2016 at 5:43 am MDT

Firefighters welcome residents returning to Beacon Hill on August 31, 2016.

The people living in 439 homes in Abasand and Beacon Hill are now allowed to permanently return to those homes for the first time since the May 3 evacuation.

As of 11 a.m. Wednesday 12 families had returned to Abasand and had checked in at the information centre while four families had done the same in Beacon Hill. As of 6 p.m. 55 families had returned to Beacon Hill while 49 had returned to Abasand. Those numbers are expected to continue to rise as the long weekend approaches.

Recovery Branch Lead Erin O’Neill said the security checkpoints were officially moved as of 8 a.m. Wednesday.

“It will be free flow into Abasand and Beacon Hill. The security checkpoints will actually move to different areas within those neighbourhoods,” she said.

That will ensure the areas where debris removal continues are kept separate from areas where people are living and that the remaining 174 homes in Abasand and 61 homes in Beacon Hill that are standing but are not included in the first phase of re-entry are kept secure at all times.

There are now new, smaller, restricted areas set up within the communities and contractors are having to undergo mandatory orientation for working in the large debris fields so close to where people are returning home and will have to show proof they’ve passed a test following that orientation to enter the new secure areas within Abasand and Beacon Hill.

“Otherwise residents can go in, friends can visit, it will basically have the look and feel of a community again,” O’Neill said.

There will be re-entry booklets at the doorstep of each of the 439 homes approved for re-occupation and residents are encouraged to visit information centres located at the Frank Lacroix Arena and the parking lot beside Ecole Boreale. The centres are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

“There’s multiple services on site: Red Cross, the utility companies, ATCO Electric, Shaw, Telus, Insurance Bureau of Canada, municipal representatives, there to answer all the questions. So residents are welcome to come to the information centres,” said O’Neill. “You do not have to attend an information centre, you can do that after you go to your home. But we do encourage residents between August 31st, September 1st and September 2nd to visit one of those information centres.”

There are many residents for whom Wednesday will not be a true homecoming because they will have work to do to ready their home before they can move back in and there will be supports available to those residents with more details at the information centres.

Mayor Melissa Blake made mention of those residents Wednesday morning saying that while she understands the need to celebrate the relief the re-entry day brings for many residents she knows it is a very difficult day for many others.

“Of course we have our Waterways on the side that we still wonder and worry about on a daily basis,” said Blake, adding the RMWB is in constant conversation with the province about the flood mitigation measures needed to allow rebuilding in those communities.

The second phase of re-entry for the remaining standing homes in Abasand, Beacon Hill and Waterways will not be allowed until all demolition work is done and debris has been cleared from those neighbourhoods.

“We’ve been waiting with long and patient and, sometimes, frustrated feelings about when and how we could get back in and there is no longer frustration for these 439 homes that are about to be reoccupied. What there is is a joy and enthusiasm and despite our rainy weather, which we didn’t have on our first day of re-entry, we are lucky that we have it here today and those citizens that are coming home will get the same warm welcome that everyone else did,” said Blake. 

She said she also acknowledges every homeowner is facing their own challenges in returning and that, even if you live in a green zone, not everyone will be returning home to standing homes in Phase 1 because of repairs and cleaning that may still need to be done.

There are 242 total homes in Abasand and Beacon Hill and 36 in Waterways that are not part of this first phase of re-entry that will not be able to go home until all debris is removed and, in the case of Waterways, a flood mitigation strategy is in place.

If you want to know what changes have been made on the ground to make re-entry possible for the Phase 1 homes you can read a detailed overview of the green homes plan online.

“That document does include all the risks that were reviewed, it does include the mitigation measures for those risks and it also includes everything that has changed on the ground since May 30th. So there is a detailed assessment that has changed on the ground, detailing all of the mitigation measures that have been put in place to allow the safe re-entry of our residents,” said O’Neill.

Some of those changes are evident on arrival into the community, like the reinforced fencing, clearer signage, reinforced tacifier, and measures in place to keep the demolition process safe for residents and the contractors doing the work.

In less than 24 hours, more than 900 contractors completed the new orientation process, which includes a test, in order to qualify to do demolition work in the still-restricted areas next to the green zones where families are returning to live.

On the ground working now in the RMWB to ensure safe demolition and development work there are: six safety codes officers, six development compliance officers, nine occupational health and safety officers, two commercial vehicle enforcement officers, one environmental officer, and over 200 private security staff.

You can report any unsafe demolition work under way in your neighbourhood by calling the PULSE Line at 780-743-7000.