Tracking the recovery in Slave Lake, Alberta
Residents in Slave Lake, Alberta after a wildfire ravaged their town in May. Two months later, the close-knit community is starting to rebuild.
Canadian Red Cross workers who've been helping Slave Lake residents recover from a devastating forest fire are shifting gears to help them cope with a sudden deluge of water. Heavy rain yesterday flooded basements and washed out sections of highways around the northern Alberta town.
Global News takes a look at Slave Lake ‘by the numbers’ and tracks the town’s recovery progress.
Number of people forced to flee: At least 10,000
Number of deaths: 1. Jean-Luc Deba of Montreal was piloting a helicopter involved in the firefighting efforts near the town when the aircraft crashed into Slave Lake on May 20.
Homes and businesses destroyed in Slave Lake and the surrounding area: Numbers ranged from 400 to 700
Number of people without accommodation in the area: Over 730, 396 will need housing by the end of August.
Cash donations to the Red Cross in the first three days of the disaster: $472,000
Pets found alive in Slave Lake after the fire: more than 140
Estimated cost of damage: The Insurance Bureau of Canada has reported that the insured damage caused by the fire totals $700 million, making it the second costliest insured disaster in Canadian history. The ice storm that hit Quebec and Ontario in 1998 cost $1.8 billion.
Provincial government funding: $50 million toward the rebuilding of Slave Lake and surrounding communities—this in addition to the previously allocated $50 to help victims pay for essential housing, employment, business, education, security and infrastructure.
How long will it take to rebuild? "We have identified four zones in the community and the first zone, possibly, could start rebuilding in a month," revealed the town's mayor, Karina Pillay-Kinnee last month. For those who had homes in 'Zone Four,' which is the area that suffered the most damage, the wait to rebuild is expected to take up to six months.
- With files from The Edmonton Journal
