An important chapter in the Fort McMurray saga has officially closed — all residents of standing structures are officially allowed back into their homes.
As of Nov. 4, Dr. Karen Grimsrud, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, gave the green light for residents to live in 224 standing homes in the communities of Abasand and Beacon Hill. The announcement means the re-entry phase in Fort McMurray has officially ended — five months after it began.
Erin O’Neill is the operations manager for the Wood Buffalo Recovery Task Force. She said with Grimsrud’s blessing, Abasand and Beacon Hill residents can begin the next phase in the rebuild process — and so too can the Wood Buffalo region.
“I think it’s a pretty exciting day for us,” she said.
An aerial view of the Beacon Hill North neighbourhood post-wildfire in May 2016. In addition to the Abasand neighbourhood, residents in standing homes in the Beacon Hill neighbourhoods are allowed back in without notifying security. (Alberta Government)
Previously, residents were only allowed into their neighbourhood between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.; they also had to sign in and out at a security checkpoint. Many of the checkpoints are now gone, except in the most damaged areas.
Even though experts said it was unsafe to live in the restricted areas, some residents chose to stay in their homes.
‘It wasn’t necessarily sneaking in’
“It wasn’t necessarily sneaking in,” O’Neill said. Residents would sign in during the allotted hours, but would not leave even after the 8 p.m. curfew. O’Neill said she and the taskforce were well-aware of residents staying behind and did not forcefully remove anyone.
“The municipality provided all the residents with the information and recommendations from the chief medical officer of health,” she said. “We basically let them make their own decisions, giving them all the information so they can make the best decisions for their family.
“Safety is our number one concern.”
Many of the residents steered clear of their homes, and O’Neill said many still won’t be able to live in them as residents are go through the remediation process. However, the lift on the restrictions means residents can freely move in and out of their neighbourhood.
Now that the checkpoints are gone, O’Neill said they can focus more attention on the next task: rebuilding the community.
“[We’re] trying to get back to our new normal,” she said. “We can move forward into our rebuild phase.”
The municipality of Wood Buffalo said there will be an information centre at Father Beauregard School open from noon to 8 p.m. on Nov. 7.