The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation both declared a State of Local Emergency as of 4:00 p.m. May 4.
Tammy MacPherson and Angela Lawley were filling jugs of water at water station on the Town of Athabasca riverfront on May 4, after being evacuated from their homes in Fort McMurray. They are now staying in a trailer on a property in Boyle that belongs to their friend, Amy Buis.
“We're just lucky she had a place, ” MacPherson said, noting that all three live and work in Fort McMurray.
Or used to.
“She retired yesterday, and instead of celebrating we evacuated, ” Lawley said, pointing at MacPherson. “We don't know when we can go back. Nobody's working. Everything's on hold. ”
The three women are amongst tens of thousands of people who are streaming out of Fort McMurray after a massive wildfire drove its population out of the city and into evacuation mode.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation both declared a State of Local Emergency as of 4:00 p.m. May 4.
Around 80,000 people were evacuated from their Fort McMurray homes starting the afternoon of May 3 and into the evening, said Minister of Municipal Affairs Danielle Larivee at an afternoon press conference May 4.
About 75,000 hectares of land in the region had burned, she reported, along with some 1,600 structures within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
A team of 250 firefighters, including 88 from around the province, were actively fighting the blaze, backed up by dozens of helicopters and air tankers.
Flow of evacuation
Grassland Fire Chief Travais Johnson said traffic has been backed up from the hamlet all the way to the Highway 63's Atmore junction for over 13 hours, with no signs of letting up.
“It's crazy, ” he said. “Everything is full. Gas stations are full. People are trying to get food, water. ”
There were some reports May 3 that gas stations in Grassland and Wandering River were out of gas; Johnson said he heard rumours that some have fuel while others do not.
“I know some guys are running out of change, all that kind of stuff, (where they) deal with customers, ” he added.
Alberta Transportation has sent out a fuel tanker to assist stranded drivers on the highway.
Athabasca RCMP Staff Sgt. Brian Nicholl said he has definitely seen an increase in traffic through the Town of Athabasca.
“Traffic Services have completely gone up there so we don't have our Traffic members in town, ” he said.
With all the evacuees making their way through the county, Nicholl said there is not much the detachment can do to prepare for the influx of people.
“It's just being prepared by being available for work, ” he said. “We have turned into a less proactive and more reactive, because that's all we can do at this stage. All resources are being used for up there. ”
Despite the movement, the detachment has not had police calls relating to evacuees.
“We haven't had any traffic complaints; we haven't had any lodging or that kind of complaint where people are fighting over rooms or places, ” he noted.
Help where needed
Athabasca County is lending its support to several rest stops for evacuees of the Fort McMurray fire, according to a press release from the county.
County communications co-ordinator Karl Kopan said food and refreshments have been set up in Wandering River, Grassland and Athabasca. The county has been assisting TransCanada Pipelines register evacuees at its camp near Wandering River. The company opened 250 beds at the camp on Tuesday night.
Local organizations have also set up a rest area at the Athabasca Agriplex and Grassland Hall.
Kopan said the municipality has been in regular contact with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency's Provincial Operations Centre (POC).
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Athabasca Regional Multiplex has not been authorized to open as an emergency reception centre.
The POC is operating two emergency reception centres, one at the Bold Centre in Lac La Biche and one at the Expo Centre in Edmonton.
Athabasca County's Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) workers are on-call to travel and relieve workers at the Bold Centre.
“Emergency Social Services (ESS) staff have also been in contact with reception centres in Fort McMurray and Lac La Biche to offer help, ” Kopan said.
As of earlier this afternoon, none of Athabasca County's fire departments had been dispatched but all were on stand by. Their equipment has been registered and ready to go, if called upon.
Grassland Fire Chief Travais Johnson said six of his firefighters are on stand by.
The Athabasca RCMP detachment sent out three members to assist with traffic control, evacuees, and response to regular police calls along Highway 63, near Fort McMurray. Two members returned Wednesday afternoon.
