Re-entry date announced for Fort McMurray neighbourhoods Abasand and Beacon Hill
Mack Lamoureux | CBC News | Posted: August 25, 2016 5:40 PM | Last Updated: August 26, 2016
Another hard-hit neighbourhood, Waterways, still isn't ready for people to come back
People who live in the Fort McMurray neighbourhoods hardest hit by last May's wildfire will finally be allowed to return home next week, city officials announced Thursday.
Reentry to 439 homes in Abasand and Beacon Hill will start Aug. 31.
Not everyone can go home. There are 174 homes in Abasand and 61 in Beacon Hill that are still off-limits. Residents of Waterways are still being kept away. Officials say they are still working on a reentry date.
"I just want to make sure that the rest of the residents, including Waterways, know you're not lost on us and I believe we have another two stages in the reentry plan that will be announced within the weeks," said Coun Keith McGrath.
"Please don't think you're forgotten, you're on the radar."
Residents in other parts of the city were allowed to go back in early June.
Mayor Mellissa Blake said she is "delighted to welcome home more residents of our municipality."
"Inevitably, the message is bittersweet. We have many who will not be able yet to find their path to recovery."
'We are here for you'
In early May, a wildfire ripped through Fort McMurray destroying thousands of homes, damaging many areas and forcing more than 90,000 from their homes.
The fire is the most costly disaster in Canadian history. Officials said that this reentry will look exactly like the previous reentry processes earlier in the summer. Information centres will be set up in both neighbourhoods and fire trucks will be at the entrances welcoming the residents home.
The announcement comes after Alberta's chief medical officer of health gave the green light to the municipality, after the office was satisfied the city has enough safety measures in place to protect returning residents.
"We needed to make sure we had the proper safety and mitigation measures in place to return these people," said Erin O'Neill, chief of planning, Wood Buffalo Recovery Task Force.
"Including fencing, tackifier, the testing results. We need to make sure all those mitigation measures were in place."
With this hurdle behind us, we recognize there is much more work to be done for Abasand and Beacon Hill residents... - Jeanette Bancarz,
Sherwin Toms drives to his home in Beacon Hill at least once a week. His house sits on the edge of the green zone, where homes will be safe to occupy next week.
"I am just very grateful my house is still standing," he said.
The city's announcement offers Toms some relief.
"But I still don't think I will be able to live here for quite some time," he said. "They may still have to do some major remediation on this house because of the smoke damage the smell."
Details of which houses will be allowed to return will be made available here.
"With this hurdle behind us, we recognize there is much more work to be done for Abasand and Beacon Hill residents and all across the region on the road to recovery," Jeanette Bancarz, chair of the Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee, said in a release.
"We look forward to answering your questions and listening to your concerns and priorities at our next community engagement session. We are here for you."