Evacuee shelter shuts doors
The Edmonton reception centre for people displaced by the wildfires in Fort McMurray has closed.
There were no Fort McMurray evacuees remaining at the centre as of Thursday evening, said Edmonton fire Chief Ken Block.
“We’re kind of moving the emergency response phase to more of a recovery phase,” Block said Friday. “These are families that need to transition into something more semi-permanent.”
“It just seemed like the timing was right. There weren’t a lot of people requiring cot space in the evenings,” Block added.
About 25,000 people registered at the Northlands Edmonton Expo reception centre since the first evacuees began arriving during the early hours of May 3. At its peak, more than 2,000 people slept on cots provided by Northlands and about 75,000 meals were served.
As Northlands wound down operations at the reception centre, 40 Edmonton Fire Rescue Services personnel remained on the ground in Fort McMurray. By June 2, it’s estimated 300 Edmonton firefighters, mechanics, investigators and critical incident management personnel will have been involved in battling the Fort McMurray wildfire.
Conditions in Fort McMurray have improved greatly, Block said, but there are still a number of hot spots within the city.
“There’s a 20/20 crossover that folks up there talk about, and that’s when the relative humidity approaches 20 per cent and the air temperature hits 20 C or higher. Things really start to pick up,” he said. “You’ve got some deep-seated embers in the forest floor.
Meanwhile, the relief effort remains underway in Edmonton as a local non-profit overseeing a local distribution centre has put out a call for more volunteers.
The Edmonton Emergency Relief Services Society (EERSS) has roughly 200 volunteers helping daily at the Fort McMurray donation distribution centre at Kingsway Mall, down from 900 volunteers that were assisting in the days following the mandatory evacuation.
“We need as many volunteers as we can possibly put our hands on,” said Nicole Geoffroy, a society spokeswoman. “As for donations, right now we definitely need toddler and adolescent clothes.”
The society has received 180,000 new items of clothing and 120,000 new pairs of shoes at its south-end donation centre at 3870 98 St.
About 60,000 Fort McMurray evacuees have visited the distribution centre since its doors opened May 9.
The lineup outside the distribution centre Friday wrapped around the building, as many evacuees visited the centre for the second or third time to restock items for re-entry into Fort McMurray beginning June 2.
“We don’t have enough clothes right now,” said Ana Bolilia, an evacuee from the Thickwood area of Fort McMurray, who picked up a case of water, a pair of pants and a shirt during her second visit to the distribution centre.
“All of the water bottles that we can grab, we got.”
The distribution centre is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
People interested in volunteering there can register at the EERSS website.