Residents of fire-ravaged Slave Lake, Alberta will briefly be allowed to return to their town Monday to view the damage from last weekend's wildfires.
Tom Neufeld, a spokesperson for the province's emergency operations centre, said 250 people will get to tour Slave Lake tomorrow and another 250 people, the day after that.
The government will then assess if more tours, which will be carried out on five buses, are needed, Neufeld told The Canadian Press.
The buses will not be viewing all damaged properties and the route will be posted online. The tours will leave from evacuation centres in Edmonton, Westlock and Athabasca.
No one under 18 will be allowed on the tour, and it will be up to residents to decide among themselves who can go back.
The move comes after emotions ran high at a Saturday meeting for about 200 evacuees stuck in Athabasca who want to return to their homes in Slave Lake to assess the damage.
Media weren't allowed into the town hall meeting with Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee and provincial government officials at the Athabasca multiplex.
CTV Edmonton's Bill Fortier spoke to residents after the meeting, who said they were told officials will likely organize bus tours so that displaced residents can see for themselves what's left of their charred community.
Residents are upset that media personnel and others have been allowed into Slave Lake, but they can't return to see for themselves the damage.
"Of course we're working on this 24-7," provincial government spokesperson Nikki Booth said outside the meeting. "We are trying to get those answers from people; it's just taking some time."
Provincial officials say they are concerned for several reasons:
- Residents may want to sift through rubble, and it's not yet safe to do that.
- Many of the essential services, such as water, electricity and gas, haven't been re-established.
- Two fires are still burning close to the town.
According to soil experts, because of the level of contamination from the ash and soot, it's likely that both water and soil in Slave Lake will be tainted for a long time, perhaps up to 10 years.
Despite the dangers, many residents are eager to return home. Many are worried about their financial well-being -- business owners, for example, want access to their trucks so they can work.
There's no word yet on when the bus tours will begin. Another town meeting will be held Sunday evening.
The week-long fire, which has devastated one-third of Slave Lake, is still being monitored by crews. Wildfires are still burning in the Northern Alberta region. Currently, there are 53 active fires, 10 of which are classified as out of control.
The situation, however, is considered an improvement from last week when 39 fires were out of control.
In the Slave Lake area, 250 kilometers northwest of Edmonton, there are still two major fires that officials say can easily become dangerous to the community if winds pick up again.
