Close X
Friday, September 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

'It's Going To Create Hostility:' Fort McMurray Evacuees Want To Go Home Soon

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 May, 2016 11:18 AM
    LAC LA BICHE, Alta. — Dave Cramm doesn't understand why he can't go home.
     
    The 38-year-old welder said it appears that his house in Fort McMurray's Timberlea neighbourhood was untouched by a wildfire that engulfed some areas of the city last week.
     
    He wants to at least check on his pet fish and grab a few things he left behind.
     
    About 90 per cent of the Alberta city's structures were saved, but Premier Rachel Notley has said it will be two weeks before residents will be given an idea when they can return.  
     
    Cramm is worried that if people are kept out of the city for too long, especially if they know their homes are undamaged, things could get tense.
     
    "It's going to create hostility," said Cramm, who on Tuesday was smoking outside a reception centre in Lac La Biche, Alta., about a three-hour drive south of Fort McMurray.
     
    "You got people here getting stressed out."
     
    Cramm said he tried to go back, but was turned away at a police barricade. He said he won't try that again because "you don't want the trouble," but wonders whether others will be willing to hold off.
     
     
    Two wildfires in the Fort McMurray area had joined by Tuesday to form a single blaze covering about 2,300 square kilometres.
     
    Kevin Lewis said he was anxious to return to his home in Thickwood, another neighbourhood that appears to have come out of the fire in good shape.
     
    He has had no news of the pitbull he left behind and he's been unable to run his transportation brokerage business.
     
    But he understands the rationale for keeping residents out for now.
     
    "There's obviously power lines down and I know the water is not drinkable right now. They have to reroute the gas lines .. from the areas that were affected the worst, so there's no chance of any leaks, so I understand the waiting game."
     
    What he doesn't like is being in the "unknown zone." He said up-to-date information from authorities has been lacking.
     
    "If there's no communication, that just opens up a big kettle of fish there. Now we can only speculate."
     
    Lewis said he's going to stick around Lac La Biche for the time being.
     
    "I really don't feel like being a long ways away and having to endure the drive again."
     
    It's been tough going for some evacuees elsewhere. 
     
     
    Alberta Health Services said Tuesday it was dealing with more than 110 cases of what appears to be viral gastroenteritis at some evacuation centres.
     
    Chris Sikora, Edmonton's medical health officer, said 105 cases were reported in Edmonton, four cases in Calgary and nine in the central zone.
     
    Back in Lac La Biche, Nicole Barrett, an oilsands process operator, said it's tough to get accurate information about assistance from government agencies and a lot of rumours are circulating.
     
    She has been camping with her fiance's family about 20 minutes outside town. She'd prefer to be home, but gets why she can't.
     
    "In the end it's really for everybody's safety. We all want to go home, but at least when we get home everything's going to be good to go. We'll have our power, water. Stores will be open."
     
    The wait doesn't bother Kevin Sturge, who was relaxing with his terrier-shih-tzu cross, Jack, curled up at his side.
     
    "I feel like I've got to move on," said Sturge, who has spent 37 years in Fort McMurray. He made a good living working as a driver there, but tussles with employers over the years make him less than keen to go back.
     
    "I'm looking for a used vehicle right now so I can go across Canada and visit my family, and then come back and find a place to live for me and Jake," he said.
     
    "I want a small town because it's a good environment for Jake."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Health Canada, Cfia Approve Genetically Engineered Potato With Reduced Browning

    Health Canada, Cfia Approve Genetically Engineered Potato With Reduced Browning
    J.R. Simplot Company was notified by both agencies in letters dated March 18 that it could sell its potatoes — which purportedly are less likely to bruise or turn brown when cut — to consumers or for livestock consumption

    Health Canada, Cfia Approve Genetically Engineered Potato With Reduced Browning

    Manitoba Politicians Promise Better Roads, Cheaper Education, Faster Health Care

    Manitoba Politicians Promise Better Roads, Cheaper Education, Faster Health Care
    Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari said she would shelve a planned $400-million highway bypass around St. Norbert, a neighbourhood at the south end of Winnipeg.

    Manitoba Politicians Promise Better Roads, Cheaper Education, Faster Health Care

    Analysts Suggest Calgary Byelection A Litmus Test For Alberta Tory Survivability

    The Calgary Greenway seat became vacant last November when Tory legislature member Manmeet Bhullar was killed in a chain reaction highway crash after he got out of his vehicle to help a stranded motorist.

    Analysts Suggest Calgary Byelection A Litmus Test For Alberta Tory Survivability

    Federal Government Says B.C. LNG Decision Coming After 90-Day Review

    Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said Monday she expects the federal cabinet to be ready to make a decision after another 90 days on the proposed $36-billion Pacific NorthWest LNG export project near Prince Rupert.

    Federal Government Says B.C. LNG Decision Coming After 90-Day Review

    Vancouver Still Leads The Country In Traffic Congestion

    Vancouver Still Leads The Country In Traffic Congestion
    Vancouver remains Canada's most congested city, followed by Toronto and Montreal, but the study shows all three are inching toward improvement.

    Vancouver Still Leads The Country In Traffic Congestion

    Federal Budget Expected To Defer Some Liberal Campaign Promises

    Federal Budget Expected To Defer Some Liberal Campaign Promises
    The Trudeau government's maiden budget will make it easier for jobless Canadians to collect employment insurance benefits and will target some additional EI measures at workers in energy-producing provinces hit hard by the plunge in oil prices.

    Federal Budget Expected To Defer Some Liberal Campaign Promises