With the smoke beginning to clear from around Slave Lake, area residents are continuing their efforts to help the community rebuild.
On Tuesday, Sturgeon County councillors voted unanimously to donate $10,000 to the Red Cross as part of the ongoing relief effort for Slave Lake. The money would come out of the county's contingency fund.
While administration recommended a $2,500 donation, Coun. Joe Milligan moved to up it to $10,000. "We're neighbours," he said in an interview, "and we've got to look after each other."
He picked the $10,000 figure off the top of his head, he said — even a million wouldn't cover the damage done to the town. "It's certainly a disaster that's going to take some time to heal."
Several councillors supported Milligan's idea, and asked county staff to look for other ways to help Slave Lake. Coun. Karen Shaw challenged other municipalities to match or exceed the county's donation.
The Morinville Chamber of Commerce is also helping out, having raised $6,739 through a silent auction at an after-hours business event last Thursday.
Chamber president Sheldon Finger said the response at the event was overwhelming with many chamber members coming forward with auction items and very generous bids.
"Some items went for over double just because people knew what they were bidding for. It was more for the reason than for the item."
Fingler said the chamber has focused on the business community because they believe it is essential to helping the overall community get back on its feet.
"It might not just be someone's home business supporting their own family, it might be someone supporting many other families."
The chamber has also launched another initiative for the business community with an "adopt-a-business program." Fingler said the idea was to help businesses in the transition time while they waited to get back on their feet.
In the DJ and rental business himself, he said he would be lost without his equipment, but he can probably help anyone in the Slave Lake area who might have pressing customer needs without equipment to fill them.
"There is a guy up in Slave Lake that has nothing left, and if there is something we can do to help them, than that is what we have to do."
Fingler said there are many examples of what people could do in the short term.
"It may be as small as a mechanic that lends out some extra tools to help a mechanic there."
Library lends a hand
The Morinville Public Library is also fundraising to help the community with a program designed to help the Slave Lake Library build a new collection.
Slave Lake's library, along with its town hall, was among the nearly 400 buildings destroyed by fire in the blaze.
Morinville library manager Isabelle Cramp said the task of rebuilding their entire collection is going to be immense for Slave Lake.
"I can't even imagine losing an entire collection. You are talking books, DVDs audiobooks, music, magazines," she said. "You are not talking about only current books, there are also classics, books that are still going out strong."
