It was 1 a.m. Tuesday when Jasper resident Ted Turnbull had to pack up what he could, grab his dog Oreo, and flee from the Alberta mountain town as a wildfire approached.
“I did what I could,” said Turnbull, who lives with a disability and has issues walking. In the scramble to catch the bus that would take him to Calgary, he couldn’t find his two cats, who he was forced to leave behind.
“It was like it was snowing,” Turnbull recalls tearfully. “All the ash falling.”
Once displaced Jasper residents arrive in Calgary, organizations are mobilizing to help where they can. Parachutes for Pets is helping to walk Oreo and supply Turnbull, and other evacuees, with all their pet needs.
The Calgary Humane Society is offering similar supports, along with the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society.
Other resources for displaced Jasper residents include The Samaritan’s Purse, the Distress Centre Calgary, Calgary Counselling Centre, The Veteran’s Food Bank Calgary, Red Cross and more.
211 Alberta is updating a daily list of resources supporting those affected by Alberta wildfires here.
In a conference Thursday, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek urged people wanting to offer help to submit those offers via email to EmergencySupportOffers@gov.ab.ca.