Crisis & Recovery The Royal Tour
THE AFTERMATH | THE ROYAL TOUR
Part way through their cross-Canada newlyweds' tour, Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge learned of the Lesser Slave River disaster. They used the one private day they had been allotted in an otherwise full agenda to fly to the region. They were interested in meeting the emergency personnel who had battled the blaze, and in particular they wanted to comfort families who had lost their homes.
"They raised everybody's spirits. It was great to see smiles on peoples' faces again."
As visitors to our region go, not many come with a higher profile or bigger entourage than the royal couple. However, their visit was anything but a staged event, and the visitors were anything but perfunctory. Those who had an audience with Will and Kate commonly reflect on their genuine, caring nature and their attempts to be as casual and protocol-free as possible.
The first part of the royal visit involved joining Reeve Denny Garratt and Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee on a tour of the the burn zone. At a private gathering, the couple spoke with a group of emergency workers and later went table-to-table to talk with displaced residents. One resident confided to the royal couple that his wife, also at the table, was just dying to see Kate's diamond and sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to Lady Diana. The Duchess turned beet red, looked down and said "Today is not about me, it's about you." Later, however, she deftly took the woman's hand and fulfilled her wish.
The visit provided a brief distraction and buoyed local spirits. The time these two very public figures spent with families, firefighters, local officials and beaming school children meant the world to a community still struggling to cope with staggering loss and upheaval.
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.
ORIGINS OF DISASTER
In Late October 2011, arson was revealed as the only possible cause of the fires that wrought such havoc on the Lesser Slave River region. This interactive map illustrates where and when these devastating wildfires began.
PICKING UP THE PIECES
The smoke has cleared and the fires extinguished, but the real work is now before us. What lessons have we learned from this tragedy, and what are we doing to repair the lives and livelihoods of those affected?
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
