Fort McMurray residents air grievances at city's 1st council meeting
'You don't get to into a cage with a lion, and you don't let a forest fire burn that close to a city'
Councillors in Wood Buffalo faced frustration and anger Tuesday as they met for the first time in Fort McMurray since a wildfire forced an evacuation of the city six weeks ago.
At the standing-room-only meeting, residents were eager to give vent to their feelings and express concerns, including Andrew Thorne who begged to know who was responsible for the situation eroding so quickly.
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"Who did what, when, and where?" he asked the 11 council members. "You don't get into a cage with a lion, and you don't let a forest fire burn that close to a city.
"And we did that for two days, and I trusted whoever was in charge to do that properly. And they put me and my children at risk."
But Mayor Blake fired back, emphasizing there was no indication the wildfire was going to turn towards the city.
"But I can tell you, from the perspective that I had from that update in the morning, we had no idea that the wind was going to shift so dramatically, or bring it to our doorsteps in the manner that it did."
The city did what it could to the best of its ability, she said.
"You're not going to hear me speak ill of any living soul that put effort into leaving the community that day, or the people on the ground that stayed behind to do the fight."
The meeting stretched on for more than four hours, as residents spoke of their financial strain, their frustration over the emergency plan and their anger over undamaged homes that remain off-limits.
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Arianna Johnson lives in one of the hardest-hit neighbourhoods, where homes that survived the wildfire cannot be inhabited due to health and safety concerns.
Johnson, executive director of the Fort McMurray food bank, became emotional speaking about the lack of security around her Abasand home.
"I have returned to Abasand one time. I forced my drivers licence into the security guards hand. He didn't want to take it. He didn't care to check.
"How is my home secure? I need to know that if you pass this bylaw, you're going to do better than the province did by us."
With council stretched for time, many of the new bylaws under consideration, such as the controlled access bylaw that council was anxious to pass, could only be introduced. That left the final vote for another day.