Evacuees line up for hours for provincial emergency funding

Despite a lineup several blocks long, and temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, some of the thousands of Fort McMurray evacuees at the Butterdome Thursday had only positive things to say about the experience.

"Met a lot of awesome people," Spencer De Klerk said.

He related the story of a stranger offering him a cup of coffee as he and others waited hours outside the Butterdome to get a debit card for emergency funding from the province.

"Just the courtesy and the help everybody is extending to each other, it's a great experience," De Klerk said.

Evacuees began lining up outside the Butterdome near the University of Alberta starting at 2 a.m., even though the facility didn't open until 8 a.m.

Each adult evacuee is entitled to $1,250 from the province, while children under 18 are eligible for $500.

The evacuees have to provide government identification, proof of residency, and must be registered with the Red Cross in order to get the money.

Eleven thousand households were given a total of $12 million in emergency funds, according to the latest figures Thursday.

In Edmonton, a second location for evacuees to pick up their debit cards was set up Thursday at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Displaced Fort McMurray residents began lining up at NAIT hours before official notice was given of the opening of the second processing site.

Emile Lapointe was one of them. He was turned away from the Butterdome Wednesday evening after spending five hours in line.

"They did have a week to get ready, it's a bit of a disappointment that they didn't have two locations open yesterday. But they wised up and they got the second one ready and going today so that's good," Lapointe said.

He and his son arrived at NAIT early Thursday. By the time the doors opened at 2 p.m. the line was "out of sight down the hallway," he said.

Debit cards were to be handed out in the NAIT north lobby from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday.

"For temporary needs, it will help us a lot," said Bill Asefa, who came to the Butterdome with his wife and two young children. "Until we get back on our feet, I'm sure this will be a tremendous help."

He offered praise for those people standing in line alongside his family. "It's amazing, a good experience overall," he said.

De Klerk described the experience as "unifying."

"This fire, it didn't break us in Fort McMurray. It just re-invigorated the love we have for each other, our families and our community," De Klerk said.

• Get breaking news alerts on this story and others. Download the CBC News app for iOS and Android