People still waiting for homes months after Kátł'odeeche First Nation wildfire

A raging wildfire badly damaged parts of the Kátł'odeeche First Nation (KFN) reserve this spring, and months later people still do not have a home to return to. 

"I'm tired of living out of a suitcase," said Carol Dixon, who evacuated from KFN in May with her husband, and is still living in a hotel, without a kitchenette. 

"I have to wash my dishes in the sink, in the bathroom. That's very difficult," she said. 

She was renting a house that burned down because of the out of control wildfire. 

The fire badly damaged parts of the reserve, and destroyed 18 homes. People were forced to relocate and have been staying with family, in hotels, RCMP federal housing in Hay River, or at a wellness centre on KFN. 

April Martel, the chief of Kátł'odeeche First Nation, said that homes have been ordered from Best Buy Homes. She said it isn't exactly clear yet when the houses will be ready for residents to move into their new homes.

The houses should be done in six to 10 weeks, but Martel said it will take time for the houses to be shipped and then connected with things like electrical and heating. She said contractors are also currently working on getting the land ready for the houses to be shipped on. 

The federal government will be covering the cost of the houses. The homes will be given to the original homeowners of the houses who are also members of the nation. 

That comes as difficult news for Sarah-Jane Landry who grew up on the reserve and had her house burn down. She had inherited that home from a family member, but she isn't a member of the nation. She said that losing her home had a big impact on her. 

"I was devastated, I cried for days, and couldn't sleep for how many days," she said. 

"Every now and then I still cry about it." 

Since losing her home Landry has been moving from hotel rooms to staying with people she knows. 

She's pregnant at this time, and is in Yellowknife to receive medical treatment. She's currently staying in a hotel.

After she gives birth, she said she's not sure where she's going to go next. 

"I'm like ready to have my baby, and I'm currently still homeless," she said. 

Landry said she's on a waiting list with public housing in order to get a home she could rent. 

Raelene Lamalice's home also burned down in the fire as well.

On the night of the evacuation she heard explosions and saw flames close to her community. 

"I just kind of mentally accepted that my house was gone," she said. 

After her house burned down Lamalice traveled down south and bought a camper and she's been staying in that ever since.

Lamalice works as a firefighter and uses the camper to help her travel to different communities to help fight wildfire. 

The KFN will replace her home, but she said with the changing temperatures she'll look into moving out of her camper, and moving in with family. 

"And you got those chilly evening for sure … I definitely feel a push to get some sort of different accommodations in," she said. 

On top of the 18 homes ordered, the KFN also ordered an additional three homes that were damaged by flooding in KFN, five homes to help with homelessness, and are speaking with the federal government about ordering potentially an additional four more homes that were damaged by flooding, but were not properly assessed by the GNWT for damages. 

The GNWT did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.