A Champion Pet Foods truck has hauled a full load of donations from Morinville to shelters in Westlock and Athabasca to help Slave Lake evacuees, and now Alexander First Nation is throwing open the doors of its community hall to help out.
The truck, donated by the Morinville company, has been crammed with goods dropped off at the Ray MacDonald Sports Centre. Morinville Family and Support Services co-ordinator Amy Dribnenky said the response has been inspiring.
“It's been overwhelming. There's so much stuff. Today people were dropping off stuff before 9 a.m. (when the arena was scheduled to open). Public works has given us seven employees to help with sorting and loading.”
Shortly before the truck was scheduled to leave, Dribnenky received word Alexander would open a shelter for First Nations persons displaced from Slave Lake. The town promptly sent over a load of cots, towels, bedding, food and clothing.
“The town of Morinville has helped us so much,” said Sharice Cardinal, an Alexander resident and shelter organizer. “The Red Cross just called and they have 50 cots for us.”
Cardinal got the idea for the shelter after delivering donations from the reserve to Westlock. In speaking with elders and younger First Nations people who had been evacuated, she felt it might help to have a shelter available somewhere more familiar.
“The elders are just so devastated, so I decided to get in contact with my chief to open our doors. It's open now.”
Cardinal said donations of water and dried food can be dropped off at the community hall. Alexander residents will be letting evacuees use their homes for showering and personal grooming.
“We just want to help,” Cardinal added.
A donation centre opened Monday and Tuesday in Morinville for victims of the Slave Lake fire.
The town decided to open the arena after repeated inquiries from town residents about how they could help. “It's such a tragic situation … Morinville is a great community for coming together,” Coun. Lisa Holmes said.
The Morinville Chamber of Commerce will hold a silent auction after a planned business after-hours event scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the new community cultural centre.
Jaye Parrent, with the chamber, said they want to help the Slave Lake business community. The money raised Thursday will be donated to the Slave Lake Chamber of Commerce to help businesses recover.
“That way they can help the businesses get back on their feet.”
St. Albert efforts
In St. Albert, Jason Guy, the pastor of the St. Albert Salvation Army, said the organization, located on Liberton Drive, is taking monetary donations. People can donate by calling 780-459-1937 or visiting www.salvationarmy.ca.
The Canadian Red Cross has deployed volunteers to Slave Lake and is accepting donations through its regular procedure, which can be accessed by calling 1-800-418-1111 or visiting www.redcross.ca.
St. Albert has sent eight firefighters and three trucks to help with the fire that's burning in the town of Slave Lake.
The city received a request from the fire officer in Slave Lake and also through the Alberta Emergency Management Agency on Sunday evening at about 7 p.m., shortly after the fire breached the town's perimeter, said Darrel Bliss, acting fire chief with the St. Albert Fire Department.
“They left [Sunday] night just before midnight and they arrived up there about 2:30 this morning,” he said.
The eight personnel were off duty so staffing levels in St. Albert won't be affected, Bliss said.
The Morinville fire department is sending six firefighters to the Slave Lake emergency on Monday, said fire Chief Ron Cust.
“I know if we ran into a jam like that people would come and assist us,” he said.
Two members from the St. Albert RCMP were also sent to Slave Lake.
Sturgeon County isn't sending firefighters because the department is busy battling fires within its jurisdiction, said spokesperson Sheila Macaulay.
More than 120 firefighters from Alberta cities, including about 70 from the Capital region, are helping the 40 firefighters with the Slave Lake Fire Department, said a release from the provincial operations centre.
Officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for Slave Lake on Sunday evening. A wildfire fuelled by high winds had overtaken the town from the southern limits. Among the buildings burned were the town hall, several businesses, the library, dozens of houses and the radio station, media report.
The province was reporting Monday night that about 95 per cent of Slave Lake residents had been safely evacuated, with only essential or firefighter staff remaining in the town.
Hospitals in Westlock, Boyle and Athabasca have taken in 29 patients evacuated from Slave Lake General Hospital. All long-term care patients have also been evacuated to area facilities.
