SLAVE LAKE — More than three months after wildfires destroyed one-third of the northern Alberta town of Slave Lake, some of those who lost everything now have places to call home again.
“It’s been a long road for these people,” said Thomas Bradley of the Alberta Regional Recovery Co-ordination Group. “The challenges of May 14 and 15, it seems like a long time ago but this is part of the process of getting life back to normal again.”
Bradley is overseeing the installation of up to 350 temporary housing units for families to rent until they can rebuild. So far about 70 units have been set up.
“It’s truly exciting to see the joy in their faces and the relief when they get their homes,” said Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee.
Gary Wolstenholme was one of the first people to move into the temporary housing.
“We’ve been in the Sawridge Hotel for three months,” Wolstenholme said.
When fire descended on the town, Wolstenholme was forced to flee with next to nothing. His home of 20 years, the home he raised four children in, was burned to the ground.
“We’re a long ways away from a lot of stuff happening,” Wolstenholme said. “Some of the other areas, there might be some that don’t rebuild at all.”
Three major sites are being cleared for the temporary housing, which is expected to help ease the burdens of the approximately 250 families still in search of somewhere to live.
“Even if only for up to two years, that’s great,” Bradley said. “It’s a place you can call your own, it’s safe, it’s dry and it allows you to get back to normal again.”
According to the province, nearly 14,300 evacuees have received $13.9 million in financial support through the Slave Lake Wildfire Relief program.