Stephanie McDonald has seen disaster before.
In 2005, the CEO of the Edmonton Humane Society headed to Gonzales, La., to supervise the staging area for 1,500 pets displaced by hurricane Katrina.
Her weirdest job during that catastrophe was smashing windows to break into designated homes to free pets belonging to displaced.
“I had a crowbar, it was my key,” said McDonald. “It felt really hostile to break windows, but we were there for a reason,”
On Monday afternoon, McDonald, along with staff and volunteers, assembled 20 or so cages outside Edmonton’s Northlands’ Expo Centre, the overflow site for bus loads of Slave Lake families displaced by a massive fire. Since animals aren’t allowed inside, McDonald expects up to 200 dogs, cats, and guinea pigs will eventually be housed in cages outside.
“We’ve got people who are trying to figure out options for their animals, when they simply have no place to go themselves,” said McDonald. “We want to offer the best option in a very difficult situation.”
Exhausted and shocked Slave Lake residents arriving at the centre Monday were given showers, coffee, food, Internet access and cellphones. Similar centres were set up in other communities. An evacuation centre at the Athabasca multiplex was full to overflowing Sunday night and a another site was set up at the Westlock community hall.
Dean Treichel, a manager with the City of Edmonton’s disaster social services section, said preparation is an annual ritual in case of a disaster, with drama students from local high schools playing the role of victims. The city works closely with partner agencies to ensure needs are met.
“We practised this,” said Treichel. “We do plan for upwards of 500 people.”
Inside the centre, cots were lined up military style on the cement floor of Hall D.
Volunteers from the Salvation Army stopped by with bags of clothes, too, and handed baby bottles and blankets to a young couple and their four-month old.
“I just tell people go with the flow when this kind of thing hits,” the volunteer told them.
“You’ll be surprised how quickly things come back together. Your family is safe. You can replace everything else. You can’t replace the people.”
The Expo Centre can handle up to 500 people for three to five days. About 100 people were expected to sleep there Monday night.
But even if evacuees don’t need a place to sleep, they should still come to the centre to register, said Treichel, so family members will be able to connect them.
Red Cross staff were on their way to Slave Lake with 400 cots, 300 blankets and 500 personal hygiene kits when they learned the town was being evacuated. They rerouted to Westlock and were also helping at the other evacuation centres. More staff are on standby and are ready to help if needed, said spokeswoman Leila Daoud.
Already more than 500 people have registered in Edmonton, 40 in Westlock and between 600 and 900 in Athabasca, said Daoud.
Where needed, the Red Cross and Salvation Army have been giving evacuees gift cards, groceries, clothing and other supplies.
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