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No firm timeline for return of residents to Slave Lake (photo gallery)

The fire that razed large sections of an Alberta town continued to threaten it Tuesday, and officials said they weren’t sure when residents could come back.
Alta Fires Slave Lake 20110516 TOPIX
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach looks at the remains of a burned car in Slave Lake


ATHABASCA — The fire that razed large sections of an Alberta town continued to threaten it Tuesday, and officials said they weren’t sure when residents could come back.

“We’re working extremely hard — and so is the town of Slave Lake — to establish those conditions where people can return,” said Colin Lloyd, the head of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

“We just don’t have a timeline on that at the moment.

“All I want to do is emphasize we’re extremely sensitive to the anguish that people face.”

RCMP Sgt. Brian Scott speculated that residents might be allowed back in for a look-see by the weekend at the earliest.

Scott told reporters in Athabasca that Slave Lake is not safe. He said there is still a lot of smoke, gas lines are loose, and that the air contains chemicals.

The town also doesn’t have phone service, power, or drinkable water.

Wildfire spokesman Rob Harris said the fires that forced 7,000 residents to flee Slave Lake, northwest of Edmonton, on Sunday are still raging.

While the 100 km/h winds that whipped sparks and embers onto rooftops Sunday have abated to about half that strength, Harris said the fire is not under control.

“It really depends on the weather,” said Harris, with the Sustainable Resource Development Department.

“If we get strong winds like we saw on the weekend, it’s still a possibility (that the fire could re-enter the community),” he said.

“Until we classify it as being held, we still expect it to grow.”

The residents who fled are staying with friends or family or at three evacuation centres as far south as Edmonton.

Lloyd said while 95 per cent have moved out, some refuse to leave.

“A very small number of people have been found in the town,” he said.

“They are being dealt with by police.”

Reporters who accompanied Premier Ed Stelmach on a tour of the community Monday reported devastation that hit destroyed over a third of the town. Some areas were levelled, while others were hit in patchwork fashion.

Many homes were torched to their foundations. There were charred automobiles with melted tires, scorched children’s playground sets, green lawns burnt to cinders, and concrete front steps that now lead nowhere.

The blaze destroyed the town hall and library but spared the police station, school and hospital.

Lloyd said Slave Lake officials would be working on compiling some kind of list or webpage to let residents know which homes and businesses are still intact. He couldn’t say when that might be ready.

“We have to give them the time and space to be able to do that,” he said.

“They’ve been undertaking an exhausting and extremely intensive effort to basically save the town.”

Harris said 80 firefighters from Ontario and another 200 from British Columbia were arriving to assist the 1,000 smokeaters battling the blazes around Slave Lake and across the province.

They were being assisted by heavy equipment on the ground, along with 124 helicopters and 20 air tankers.

“We virtually have every single heavy helicopter in Canada working on fires in Alberta. Those are the big ones, the biggest you can get,” said Harris.

It’s estimated there are 100 wildfires in Alberta, about a quarter of which are out of control.

Harris says it’s been a tough fire season and it’s only just beginning. He said about 1,00 square kilometres are burning right now, more than the entire fire season in 2010, and a size 1 1/2 times that of Edmonton.

“That just goes to illustrate how significant those winds were, how large of a role they played in fire growth,” he said.


YOUTUBE video: The place we once called home, Slave Lake, Alberta