Crisis & Recovery Evacuation Efforts
EVACUATION EFFORTS
In the Line of FireDuring any type of environmental crisis, the very first consideration is people. Stationed at the MD Office and comprised of Councillors and municipal employees, the Emergency Operations Centre stood at the ready to alert residents of the approaching disaster. To those making phone calls or knocking on doors, there was a delicate balance at play: communicate the gravity and convey a sense of urgency, but remain calm and don't allow panic to take root.
"We saw a large black cloud and we thought this is something we've never seen before. And then we saw fire dropping out of the sky."
Public response tends to vary when faced with something as unprecedented as a natural disaster, and on the weekend of May 14, communities within Lesser Slave River were no different. Some knew it was coming and had already begun to pack. Others doubted that a forest fire would reach their town unchecked. Many were oblivious to the event until they received a phone call from the MD (which by then had turned into the EOC). Before long, however, one only had to look to the sky to appreciate the magnitude of the situation.
Some communities in the paths of the looming fires were put on a two-hour evacuation notice, giving residents time to pack, prepare, steel themselves emotionally and wait. During this time frame, Sustainable Resource Development was working to establish a trigger point; a point at which the fires would become unmanageable and evacuation would become necessary. On Saturday, the first trigger point was reached, and at a second one at noon on Sunday. Each time, affected residents were forced to leave their homes and most of their belongings behind.
HELPING THE HELPLESS
When reality set in and it became apparent that homecoming was weeks away for Lesser Slave residents, Animal Rescue was tasked with finding, feeding and relocating pets left behind in the panic. Read about it here.
EMERGENCY OPS
CEMA, led by Deputy Chief Tom Sampson, was one of the outside agencies responsible for helping Lesser Slave River region deal with post-crisis recovery efforts. Sampson shares his insights in a series of video segments.
A MESSAGE OF HOPE
On November 22, 2011, Reeve Denny Garratt was invited to share Lesser Slave River's story of crisis and recovery with fellow elected officials at the AAMDC Convention in Edmonton. This is what he told a packed auditorium.
FIRE WEATHER INDEX
CRISIS PRESENTATION
View an immersive presentation on the spring 2011 wildfires.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Listen to the personal accounts of those who weathered the fires.
Darren, Councillor
Kelly, Human Resource Coordinator
Tom, Landfill Manager
INTERACTIVE MAP
Discover where the wildfires began and how they spread
