We’ve seen it before when disaster strikes in Alberta– people helping people, usually complete strangers – in their time of need.
It happened after the June 2013 floods in southern Alberta, and it’s happening again with the the Fort McMurray wildfire.
READ MORE: Fort McMurray wildfire – Alberta government declares provincial state of emergency
When word got out that Northstar Ford was accepting donations, people started showing up with bags of food, clothing and other items.
“I brought in some sleeping bags, and I brought in some stuffed animals for children,” Joe Klassen said.
READ MORE: ‘Like driving through Judgment Day’ – Fort McMurray wildfire evacuee
Some brought baby supplies.
“There were two babies born in the (work) camps last night so we just dropped a bunch of baby diapers, wipes, shampoo, Tylenol – yeah, I’d hate to be stuck without any of that stuff for my kids,” said Angie Tyler, who said she found out about the births on a Facebook site.
READ MORE: 9 babies from intensive care unit evacuated from Fort McMurray hospital during fire
Adeen Bunning, the vice president of sales at Northstar Ford in Calgary, has a personal connection to Fort McMurray. She worked there and spent more than a decade raising her family in the Northern Alberta community.
She said it’s hard to watch the disaster as it’s unfolding.
“It’s just devastation – they’re afraid,” Bunning said.
“It’s a magnitude of nothing I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.”
“You hear about a hundred thousand refugees, and now we’re seeing it live with 80,000 to 90,000 people,” she added.
Fiasco Gelato, which sells ice cream, soup and sandwiches at its northeast location, decided to donate all the proceeds from sales on Wednesday. A remarkable contribution, since the company has been out of business until recently.
“We had our own fire here in December unfortunately, and we just reopened on Saturday so, a little bit of fighting fire with fire, if I may. But we wanted to get behind this as best we could,” said James Boettcher, owner of Fiasco Gelato.
READ MORE: Fort McMurray fire interactive map – NASA data shows fire invading town
“This is how I can give back to those people, because money, I believe, is needed more than me sending up a pair of shorts, or something like that,” said Chas Young, a Fiasco Gelato customer.
Watch below: Global’s ongoing coverage of the Fort McMurray wildfire
-
![]()
Fort McMurray wildfire: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley discusses state of emergency -
![]()
Alberta man shares his story of escape from Fort McMurray wildfire -
![]()
‘Holy f***’: Amateur video captures stunned reaction as Fort McMurray residents confront wildfire -
![]()
Officials say it will take a ‘large number of days’ to contain Fort McMurray wildfire -
![]()
‘We are here, we are strong: regional fire chief gives emotional update on Fort McMurray wildfire -
![]()
Powerful video captures resident’s escape from Fort McMurray wildfire -
![]()
‘It’s like Armageddon’: Fort McMurray resident who stayed describes torched city -
![]()
Firefighters continue to face ‘extreme wildfire behaviour’ as they battle to save Fort McMurray -
![]()
RCAF helicopter departs to battle Fort McMurray wildfire -
![]()
Fort McMurray remains under mandatory evacuation; over 80,000 evacuated so far -
![]()
Structures damaged amid Fort McMurray wildfire; crews trying to save downtown core, airport -
![]()
Pilot catches Fort McMurray fires from the air -
![]()
Time-lapse footage captures rapidly-spreading wildfire in Fort McMurray -
![]()
Alberta asks for military’s help amid wildfire in Fort McMurray -
![]()
Video captures mother comforting 3 kids as they flee Fort McMurray wildfire -
![]()
Fort McMurray emergency operations centre evacuated -
![]()
Premier Rachel Notley says province is doing everything is can for Fort McMurray -
![]()
Fort McMurray wildfire: Why the fire engulfed the city within hours -
![]()
Justin Trudeau to Fort McMurray residents: Canadians are with you
Three Calgary restaurant/bars, Tipperary’s, Shillelagh’s (at two locations), and Bootleggers have decided to donate 50 cents from every pint of Molson Canadian sold to the Red Cross to assist displaced victims.
READ MORE: Fort McMurray wildfire – How Canadians can help
The restaurants also decided to hand out food vouchers to anyone who has donated $10 or more to the Red Cross.
They did something similar during the June 2013 floods in southern Alberta.
“Everybody here knows somebody who lives up there or works up there, so we knew we had to do something to help,” said Steffi Heck, the social media and marketing representative of the bar’s ownership group.
The Red Cross is also accepting donations directly by phone or online for its Alberta Fires Appeal.
The number to call is: 1-800-418-111
The online site is at: http://www.redcross.ca/albertafires
Comments