Officials have warned that residents of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta should not expect the fire-damaged city to be running normally when they begin to return on Wednesday. Here is what they can anticipate:
Health Care
The Northern Lights Regional Heath Centre, the city’s only hospital, is not expected to return to full operations until after June 21. Its emergency department is to be open at 8 a.m. Wednesday and some limited services are to be available in the beginning days of the re-entry. A temporary urgent care centre has been set up outside the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre.
David Matear, incident commander with Alberta Health Services, said a lot of work has gone in to ensure basic services can operate at the hospital.
“Huge amount of work,” he said. “The particulate matter when it was really poor air quality was like snowflakes falling down from the sky. That was all going through, on top of and into the hospital. So you can image the cleaning that had to be done in the hospital, as well as the replacement.”
Matear said all the ceiling tiles in the hospital had to be replaced, and the entire facility had to be cleaned to a hospital standard.
“We’re working as quickly as we possibly can throughout the facility to make sure that we return to as comprehensive as an acute care facility as we possibly can within the next few weeks.”
“We’re desperately doing the best we can to get the hospital up and running and to service the returning community.”
Watch below: What went into getting Fort McMurray hospital’s emergency room ready for re-entry?
Schools
Classes are to resume in September. Students can finish their school year in communities where they have been staying since the evacuation.
READ MORE: Fort McMurray students can bypass diploma exams, remainder of school year
Waste disposal
Normal residential garbage collection is to resume June 16 and temporary transfer stations are to be available beginning June 2.
Airport
Commercial air service to Fort McMurray International Airport is tentatively scheduled to resume June 10.
Stores
Crews have been working to get critical businesses such as banks, grocery stores and pharmacies running again. Supplies of some items may be limited in the beginning and the government says some things may need to be rationed.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has launched a 24-hour hotline to provide information for local business owners. The Business Recovery Hotline will operate seven days a week for the first two weeks after residents return home.
The hotline is designed to provide business owners access to information resources. It also helps them identify what their needs are to get their businesses operational after the devastating fire.
“We’re committed to business in Wood Buffalo. Our businesses are the backbone of the region. They are critical economic drivers of our community, providing residents with vital goods, services and – above all – jobs,” Melissa Blake, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, said.
“Our business owners are highly resilient, but we want to ensure that they access to the necessary tools and resources to help them as we move forward.”
READ MORE: Province, municipality say Fort McMurray businesses getting 80% of rebuild
The number, 855-RMWB BIZ (855-769-2249), will provide updates for business and link them to local resources that will assist them with issues or concerns. The hotline will also be the point of entry for business owners to complete a business recovery survey that will distinguish the business community’s distinct short and long-term needs.
The province released a re-entry information booklet to help residents plan for a safe return to Fort McMurray. AHS has also issued a Returning to Your Home document.
Global News will have crews in Fort McMurray through the weekend. Follow the coverage through the live blog below:
With files from Caley Ramsay, Global News.
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