Reinforcements from BC and Ontario head to Slave Lake

SLAVE LAKE, Alta. – As firefighters from across Canada trickle into the charred and smoky ghost town of Slave Lake, Alta., today, thousands of residents are waking up to a sickening uncertainty – do they have homes to return to?

The entire community of 7,000 was evacuated Sunday when wind-whipped wildfires suddenly blazed through town, destroying a full third of its homes along with the town hall and government centre.

By Monday night, the fire east of Slave Lake had consumed about 20 square kilometres while the blaze south of the community had burned 150 square kilometres.

Reinforcements are on their way today, with British Columbia sending 120 smoke eaters and Ontario providing another 80.

But with the fires still posing a threat and damage to infrastructure such as electrical lines, gas lines and water mains, officials are saying it could be a long time before residents will be allowed back.

Many of those who are waiting out the disaster in evacuation centres say they simply don’t know if devastation awaits them or if they are among the lucky ones whose homes survived.

"We’re homeless. We have no town. We have NO town," said Coreen Attilon, who escaped with her friend Pete Prosser, her dog Max, some family photos, a gym bag and a knapsack. "I got a text (message) this morning saying the whole thing is gone."

Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee said the situation was not quite that dire – the hospital was damaged but was still standing, and the police station and the schools were alright.

But she called the destruction "totally devastating. I’ve never seen anything like this before."

If there’s one silver lining to the ash-filled cloud hanging over the heads of Slave Lake residents, it’s that no one was killed. Likewise, the transfer of about 30 hospital patients to other facilities went off without a hitch.

But evacuees are spread to the winds, some staying in gymnasiums in Westlock and Athabasca, some sleeping on cots at Edmonton’s Expo Centre 250 kilometres away.

Alberta cabinet minister Thomas Lukaszuk said it was the largest single-day displacement of people in the province’s history.

Slave Lake is not the only community in trouble. As of Monday night, there were 36 fires burning out of control in the province.

The province said evacuation orders were also in place in Loon Lake, Little Buffalo, Martin Lake, and Chisholm. In addition, the Municipal District of Northern Sunrise issued an evacuation advisory.