Emergency operations in Edmonton are beginning to return to normal after helping thousands of people forced out of northern Alberta due to the Fort McMurray wildfire.
The Edmonton Emergency Relief Services Society announced Friday the donation pick-up centre at Kingsway Mall for Fort McMurray residents will close its doors on July 13. Normal operations will resume at the downtown location in early August.
“It gives us a chance to be able to continue to help out all of Edmonton in the ways that we were as well as continue to help those affected by the wildfires,” Nicole Geoffroy, spokesperson with the EERSS, said.
READ MORE: Fort McMurray wildfire: Edmonton Expo Centre sees 17,000 evacuees
In the days following the mass evacuation on May 3, thousands of Fort McMurray-area residents made their way to Edmonton to receive much-needed services like shelter, clothing and toiletries.
To try and help keep up with the demand, a donation pick-up centre was opened for Fort McMurray residents in the old Target location at Kingsway Mall.
Geoffroy said the EERSS has offered assistance to 72,000 new people over the past three months. She said operations wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Kingsway Mall.
“Having the large amount of space, having the loading dock, having the ability to have families here line up so that we could continue to help hundreds of families at a time,” she said. “They were absolutely amazing with us.”
The downtown facility will reopen on Aug. 2. The EERSS will continue to help Edmonton residents and Fort McMurray evacuees by appointment only.
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