Evacuees eager to go home; 118 treated for gastroenteritis

LAC LA BICHE, Alta. — Dave Cramm doesn’t understand why he can’t go home.

The 38-year-old welder said it appears that his house in Fort McMurray’s Timberlea neighbourhood was untouched by a wildfire that engulfed some areas of the city last week.

He wants to at least check on his pet fish and grab a few things he left behind.

About 90 per cent of the Alberta city’s structures were saved, but Premier Rachel Notley has said it will be two weeks before residents will be given an idea when they can return.

Cramm is worried that if people are kept out of the city for too long, especially if they know their homes are undamaged, things could get tense.

“It’s going to create hostility,” said Cramm, who on Tuesday was smoking outside a reception centre in Lac La Biche, Alta., about a three-hour drive south of Fort McMurray.

“You got people here getting stressed out.”

Cramm said he tried to go back, but was turned away at a police barricade. He said he won’t try that again because “you don’t want the trouble,” but wonders whether others will be willing to hold off.

Kevin Lewis said he was anxious to return to his home in Thickwood, another neighbourhood that appears to have come out of the fire in good shape.

He has had no news of the pit bull he left behind and he’s been unable to run his transportation brokerage business.

But he understands the rationale for keeping residents out for now.

“There’s obviously power lines down and I know the water is not drinkable right now. They have to reroute the gas lines… from the areas that were affected the worst, so there’s no chance of any leaks, so I understand the waiting game.”

What he doesn’t like is being in the “unknown zone.” He said up-to-date information from authorities has been lacking.

Meanwhile, Alberta Health Services said Tuesday it was dealing with 118 cases of what appears to be viral gastroenteritis at some evacuation centres.

Chris Sikora, Edmonton’s medical health officer, said 105 cases were reported in Edmonton, four cases in Calgary and nine in the central zone.