Fort McMurray businesses eager to get back to community
'Businesses ... clamouring to get back in, as well as people'
Fort McMurray businesses eager to get back inside the wildfire-ravaged community are keeping pressure up on city's re-entry timelines, says the mayor of Wood Buffalo.
"The difficulty is, we've got businesses that are clamouring to get back in, as well as people," said Melissa Blake during an interview Monday on CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.
"But the reality is, we're looking at the best conditions that we can without a very long, lengthy delay. If you're a business person, the longer you're out, the worse it is."
With a planned re-entry set to start June 1, much of the city's electricity and gas service has been restored. But Blake said air quality remains unpredictable, and it may be well into June before a boil-water advisory for drinking water can be lifted.
A few select businesses, such as grocery stores, pharmacies and banks, have been granted early entry into the city. But Blake said services will be extremely limited.
"We're not going to have everybody operating, but we're going to have a few that will be there to cover those basic needs," she said.
The wildfire that forced 94,000 people to flee Fort McMurray on May 3 is still burning out of control. But it is no longer threatening the city. The fire destroyed more than 2,000 structures within the city, and has burned more than 580,000 hectares in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Despite the devastating damage, a phased re-entry for evacuees is set to begin on June 1.
'You have to be prepared to live differently'
Blake says she now regrets comments which suggested the city would be unsafe for children, even after the mandatory evacuation orders are lifted.
Blake said on Friday that safety concerns, including issues with the quality of the drinking water, would prevent her from moving back to the city with her family.
She told CBC she couldn't trust her children "not to turn the water on and take a big drink because that's what they're used to doing."
"I definitely regret making that statement. It was pretty unintentional," said Blake. "My point was, you have to be prepared to live differently in those first few weeks until we do get things back in order."
Blake said she will return to Fort McMurray, but only briefly and without her children, to investigate her home and gather a few essential belongings.
However, she wants to reassure residents the re-entry plan will be reviewed up to the last minute to ensure conditions are safe for people to return.
"When we give recommendations we're making sure that we're doing it to the highest standard possible, so I think we prepare people for the worst and when they come it won't be quite as bad as what we're getting them prepared for," she said.