The people of Westlock, and in fact all of Alberta, can hold their heads high.
When the news came in Sunday night that wildfires were threatening Slave Lake and an evacuation order had been issued, many residents were chomping at the bit to do whatever they could to help the evacuees.
By 10 o’clock on Monday morning, the organizers at the evacuation centre at the Westlock & District Community Hall were turning away potential volunteers because of all the posts had been filled.
Of course, more volunteer hours were needed as the week wore on and the volunteers who were put on a waiting list did get called out, but the quick initial response is something our community should be very proud of.
And that’s not all. Tens of thousands of dollars of donation money came in from area residents, not to mention several buildings full of donations from not just Westlock, but from across the province.
Then of course there are all the unvalued donations. What price can you put on somebody opening up their home to take in a family that just lost theirs, or volunteering to take care of a family’s pets as they ponder where they will live for the next few weeks or even months?
On top of that, the provincial government was quick to commit $50 million in relief money for the evacuees and to help rebuild Slave Lake. This may well be only the first installment of relief money, but the quick response was a tremendous morale booster.
We Albertans are a unique bunch. While many of us believe wholeheartedly in the virtues of hard work and individual accomplishment, the province-wide reaction to this crisis has proven that when push comes to shove, we’ll be right there to help each other out.
As we reflect on everything that’s happened in the past week, it all still feels incredibly surreal. Nothing will change the fact that fires tore through, and in some cases continue to tear through and threaten our province.
It is true that nothing will immediately bring back all that was lost in Slave Lake, and our hearts go out to the evacuees for everything they’ve lost. It’s times like these, however, that we can all take some degree of comfort in knowing the extent to which our neighbours are watching out for us.
