The mayor of an Alberta community ravaged by wildfires five years ago, is offering words of hope and encouragement to the people of Fort McMurray.
âI didnât think we would ever get back to where weâre at now, but Iâm so proud of our community and so proud of the people who worked hard to get us there,â Slave Lake Mayor Tyler Warman told CTVâs Canada AM on Friday.
When wildfire burned through Slave Lake in May, 2011, it forced the evacuation of the townâs 7,000 residents. Until more than 80,000 people were ordered out of Fort McMurray this week, the Slave Lake evacuation was the largest in the provinceâs history.
Roughly a third of Slave Lake was destroyed, leaving 732 people homeless.
âOur residents are feeling the scars,â says Warman, who was a volunteer firefighter in 2011. He also travelled to Fort McMurray Tuesday, to help battle the wildfires.
âThere are lots of images going through your mind as we replay the events of 2011, which are very similar to whatâs happening right now in Fort McMurray.â
Although the circumstances are dire now, Warman expects Fort McMurray will be able to recover. But it will take time.
Approximately 90 per cent of Slave Lake has now been rebuilt, and Warman credits Albertans.
âAlberta really came out strong, and says weâre here to help,â he said, noting, too, that the âthe provincial government really stepped up financially.â
Warman added that he was receiving offers of support from people right across the country.
âWe even got envelopes from little girls who collected money at their birthday party in the Northwest Territories. Youâre seeing that same kind of support now, and I can tell you Fort McMurray is going to need it.â
Warman is asking Canada to come together to support the 80,000 people of Fort McMurray, who are have been forced to leave their homes. âAs Canadians, keep it up.â