(PHOTO: Danielle Larivee, Minister of Municipal Affairs; Melissa Blake, Mayor of RMWB; Brian Jean, MLA Fort McMurray-Conklin; and Rachel Notley, Premier of Alberta. Copyright Rogers Media)
Provided all five safety criteria for re-entry are met, Premier Rachel Notley announced Wednesday a voluntary, phased re-entry to Fort McMurray would begin on June 1.
The plan will see communities with the least significant impact from the fire allowed to enter first with other communities being phased in over the 15-day period. That phased re-entry will ensure efficient traffic flow on Highway 63 and ensure basic services are not overwhelmed by the influx of people returning home.
The anticipated, conditional timeline for re-entry is as follows:
- Wednesday June 1: Downtown and lower town site, Anzac, and First Nations communities
- Thursday June 2: Parsons Creek, Stone Creek, Timberlea North of Confederation Way, Eagle Ridge, Dickinsfield.
- Friday June 3: Thickwood, Wood Buffalo, South Fort McMurray including Gregoire, Saline Creek
- Saturday June 4: Abasand, Beacon Hill and Saprae Creek
- Wendesday June 15: All residents with homes to go to allowed in town. Full restoration of operations at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre
- NOTE: all timelines subject to change if safety conditions are not met.
Notley said the decision to provide a timeline is a balancing act between the need to adapt to the changing and, at times, volatile fire situation and to provide residents with some idea of when they may be allowed to return to their homes.
“We know that people want to return home as soon as it is safe to do so and that is what we are working towards. If conditions change, as they did just this week, the voluntary re-entry may begin later than June 1st. Safety has been our first priority from the beginning of this situation and it will continue to be our first priority,” said Notley.
The return will only be allowed if and when all five of the following safety conditions are met:
- Wildfire is no longer an imminent threat to the community
- Critical infrastructure is repaired to provide basic service
- Essential services, such as fire, EMS, police and health care are restored to a basic level, including emergency services, fire, EMS, police, 911, open and safe transportation to and within the community including traffic controls, access to emergency medical care and transport, access to potable water, electricity and gas, access to food, pharmaceuticals, banks and other essentials and access to mental health supports.
- Hazardous areas are secure.
- Local government is re-established
Notley said that the first criteria, that the fire no longer pose an imminent threat to the community, includes the threat from poor air quality. A scale of 1-10 is used and on Tuesday air quality was at 11, which is much lower but still in the extreme range. It was also expected to rise with the wind and heat Tuesday. The quality must be below 10 before re-entry but since it’s subject to change anyone with respiratory issues should not be among the first to return.
Progress is being made on the recovery work, Notley said, including restoring 911 service and the development of a retail re-entry plan. She said there is also progress being made on restoring care to the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre despite the delays this week because of poor air quality.
By June 1, Notley said, it’s expected the hospital will be offering primary care, public health, support for home care, some mental health supports, lab services, X-ray and CT imaging, pharmacy and limited types of emergency surgery as well as the ability to transport urgent care patients to Edmonton if need be.
What won’t be available are acute inpatient care, obstetrics, dialysis, inpatient psychiatry or long-term care.
Residents with the following medical conditions or situations should not return to the community until the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre is fully operational:
- A chronic or acute medical condition, such as asthma
- Anyone requiring regular primary care, specialist care, laboratory or diagnostic services
- Anyone requiring counselling or mental-health services
- Anyone more than 36 weeks pregnant or with a high-risk pregnancy
- Anyone receiving cancer treatment, dialysis or other specialized medical services
- Anyone requiring home care, home oxygen or home health supports
- Anyone recently discharged from hospital or who has had a transplant
Schools will not be operating until September but all children will be advanced to the next grade. Parents wishing to do so should enrol their children in classes in the area they are staying for the evacuation period.
What we’re returning to
Notley said it is important to remember that returning to the community now is voluntary and that residents making a return are not going to a fully functioning city.
“It’s a matter of allowing people who wish to return on a voluntary basis to do so in a phased and cautious way. We anticipate that many people will not return as early as June 1 and we will support them in that decision,” said Notley.
The boil water advisory is expected to be in place until near the end of June for the community. Some grocery stores and pharmacies will be open but access will not be at the same levels people are accustomed to.
As well, because of the continued elevated risk of low air quality Notley said people with respiratory illnesses or who are pregnant should not plan to return in the earliest phase of re-entry. If you are among those who have no home to return to you are also encouraged not to plan a permanent return and to seek accommodation outside the city limits. There is funding approved for that by cabinet Tuesday that will allow for families to transition to temporary housing. You can apply for that funding in person, if you are eligible, at any Alberta Works office.
Mayor Melissa Blake said Tuesday’s news made it clear what she and many others have long known, that we do have a community to return to. She reiterated that the community would be different from the one we left but that it would be rebuilt and that the community would be an even better place to live at the end of the long journey we are facing.
“Everybody will be making their own choices,” said Blake. “If you go early you’re going to have a very different community than you had when you left it. If you wait a little bit longer, all of the efforts that are going in to making it the same type of community to go back to will be much further advanced.”
Blake thanked the province for their collaboration on ensuring the timeline for re-entry is flexible and allows for people to make choices about when they return based on their needs so long as safety has been considered.
“We really do have a fantastic community to return to but I beg you not to put yourself in any kind of risk or peril, to think about again what you’re returning is not being what you’ve seen before but to envision and imagine with me what we will be a year from now, five years from now and 10 years from now because that’s the journey that council will be on now that we’ve got an idea of when we’ll be going back, how do we put the next steps in place,” said Blake.
Brian Jean, the MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin and leader of the Wildrose Party said he was glad to hear the dates for return remain contingent on the safety criteria because he said safety will have to be the main concern for everyone heading back.
He thanked Notley for having kept him in the loop on developments and for allowing him to be part of the conversation for re-entry. He said he has both privately and publicly pushed for the timeline to be released to provide some relief for evacuees.
“Talking to evacuees and seeing the devastation of the fires rising around our city first-hand just two weeks ago, I know and understand that people of Fort McMurray, my citizens, my family, my friends are going through a lot of anxiety, a lot of grief, anguish and many other feelings,” said Jean. “I know every morning that I’ve been receiving messages from my family, my friends, and my neighbours. They are tired, stressed, and waiting to hear this news and I thank the premier for it.”
Jean said he is fiercely proud of our city, Albertans and the work we do and said the city would be rebuilt better than it’s ever been before.
“I will stand beside you every step of the way. We will rebuild our city and it will be better than ever. I will have my tool belt on and my shovel in my hand and we will clean it up and rebuild it,” said Jean through tears.
He said he and MLA Tany Yao have the community’s back and will continue to advocate for the people of Fort McMurray on a provincial, national and global stage.
Current state of the fire
The fire near Fort McMurray continues to burn out of control. It grew Tuesday to 423,000 ha and moved toward Highway 63 north of Parsons Creek but did not cross the highway, Notley said. Hot spots and hazards remain in the area of Fort McMurray.
“We’re not aware of any further damage to or loss of industry camps beyond Blacksands Lodge reported lost to fire yesterday,” she said. “Weather today in the Wood Buffalo region is forecast to be 24 degrees with relative humidity of 30 per cent and winds from the west gusting to 20km per hour.”
She said cooler weather is on the way with some precipitation expected Thursday and Friday.
Across Alberta there were 12 new wildfire starts in the last 24 hours, and there are 18 wildfires burning. Three are out of control, one is being held, 12 are under control and two have been turned over to local authorities. There are 1,900 firefighters working across the province, 189 helicopters, 29 air tankers and 426 pieces of heavy equipment battling fires province-wide.
