COREY SMITH

An interesting bond was formed between Edmonton and Fort McMurray.

Corey Smith is president and CEO of Noralta Lodges, which provided a safe haven and offered food, water and shelter to upwards of 6,000 evacuees forced to head north from Fort McMurray in the first 30 hours of the evacuation,

On pulling together: “Sobeys called me that day and said, ‘What do you need? We have 10 trucks ready to go in Edmonton with sandwiches and bottled water and we can get it to you.’ We were able to take care of everybody, even if it was just a sandwich and soup.”

On having the tables turn: “The first half of May, we were able to provide a safe haven. And then the winds turned and we went from being a safe area to being the ones under threat. They said, ‘We forecast you’re going to burn down in the next couple of hours.’ That was a long night, May 16, and we weren’t sure our assets would make it.

“But we had built a fire guard around our lodges and didn’t know how fortuitous that would be. Because of the fire guard and the help we got from our neighbours at Syncrude and Suncor and the Fort McKay First Nation — the community came to our aid — and were able to help protect our assets from the fire.” On the impact of the fire today:

“An interesting bond was formed between Edmonton and Fort McMurray. Sometimes Calgary is seen as more of the link just because Calgary is seen as finance head office. But the way Edmonton opened up its arms, businesses, families, evacuation centres, the record-setting donations ... Edmonton just stepped in and they did it not because they were asked, but because they are Edmontonians. And I think of many friends from Fort McMurray who have an affinity for Edmonton now that they didn’t have before. Because they developed a familiarity during their time of need, and that bond has been built.”