It has been three years since ‘The Beast’ forced the entire community to evacuate and destroyed 2,579 properties.
In 2018 the stats from the RMWB showed that 80 per cent of residents were still not back in their homes.
The latest stats indicated that 63 per cent of residents are still not home.
“Given the challenges that we have faced there has been good overall progress in the recovery end of the rebuild,” said Mayor Don Scott.
“As of April 5, 2019 we have 2139 development permits related to wildfire rebuilds that have been approved…and 945 dwellings have passed final inspection repressing about 36.7 per cent of destroyed or damaged dwellings.”
Another 777 dwelling have passed installation and vapour inspections giving the municipality hope that most of those rebuilds will be built this year.
“We’re making progress, I’m never satisfied with the progress that we’re making but we’re about where I anticipated to be at this time.”
He expects 50 per cent of the rebuilds to be complete by the end of the summer construction season.
Mayor Scott said council fought ferociously to get the extra one year extension for insurance claims from the provincial government.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, as of May 10, 2018, 97 per cent of the residential insurance claims resulting from the wildfire have been settled.
“The last time I met with the insurance folks who oversee insurance in this region they told me that most of them are resolved, those who still have not solved their insurance claims have hopefully have the chance to talk to a lawyer, which is something I’ve been encouraging.”
In November of 2018 the Municipality, Government of Alberta and Canadian Red Cross announced they will each be contributing $2 million in relief funding.
The money will primarily be for resident homeowners who are still not back in their homes, who have had to pay for interim housing and special assessment fees during the rebuild process, namely the owners of the Hillview Condominiums.
Progress on emergency preparedness and response
Scott offered some comforting news saying that the municipality is much better prepared for a future disaster.
Regional Emergency Services and the RMWB said they remain committed to implementing the 14 recommendations from the KPMG report that came out last year regarding the wildfire.
At a council meeting in December 2018 the municipality clarified the steps it’s taking to include Indigenous communities in emergency response situations.
“This region is more than Fort McMurray, we need to make sure that the entire region is safe.”
Each rural community will now have a unique plan based on its demographics and hazards.
“One of the questions that I’ve been asking Fire Chief Jody Butz is ‘are we better prepared than ever before?’ and the answer is yes. We’ve taken significant steps on each of the recommendations and we are making good progress.”
The Mayor and Council meet with Butz on a regular basis, have been trained in emergency preparedness and ongoing FireSmart work is happening to protect our community against any future disasters.
Mental health is the main focus three years after wildfire
Mayor Scott said that the third anniversary is more of a time of reflection than commemoration.
“I want everyone to respect what everyone else is experiencing and understand that not everybody is in the same place at this time…one lingering effect is that this disaster brought everyone together in a stronger way and we certainly look our for our neighbours and I would encourage everyone to do that during this time. ”
The Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Mental Health Association and Some Other Solutions (SOS) are providing mental health supports in our community.
If you, or someone you know needs to call the SOS crisis line dial, 780-743-HELP (4357).
