The City of Calgary is rolling out its plan for supporting evacuees from the Northwest Territories wildfires, including the opening of a reception centre at the Calgary International Airport.
At the request of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, the City of Calgary is mobilizing the following supports:
On Aug. 18, Canada Task Force 2 (CAN-TF2) will be sending a team of 10 emergency management personnel to Yellowknife. CAN-TF2, a division of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, is an all-hazards disaster response team with incident management capabilities to respond to emergencies and disasters throughout Canada.
Calgary’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) is now open, and the Municipal Emergency Plan (MEP) has been activated.
The reception centres will include emotional and wellness support teams. The city is partnering with local shelters to accommodate pets with lodging or supplies as needed.
The EOC opening and MEP activation allow CEMA to bring agency experts together, coordinate communications through crisis communications, support the Emergency Social Services (ESS) team in the reception centre logistics, and allow for further coordination of resources as needed.
The reception centre at the Calgary International Airport that will receive evacuees from the Northwest Territories is now open. The city says they’re committed to helping 5000 people.
On Aug. 17, YYC Calgary International Airport received a total of 15 evacuee flights from Northwest Territories with a total of 1,269 passengers and they are expecting another 26 flights today with around 2,300 people.
Currently the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) has provided 495 hotel rooms for evacuees, however this number is quickly changing as evacuees continue to arrive at the reception centres.
“And we know we have seven more flights scheduled tomorrow, and that also could increase. And we do not know the number of people that will come by car really until they arrive,” said Iain Buschell, director of emergency management and community safety.
There is also a reception centre at The Westin Calgary Airport, located at 671 Aero Drive N.E., for those who are driving.
“We want to ensure that when they arrive in Calgary, they have access to accommodations, amenities, government services and mental health supports,” said Buschell.
“We’ve learned through years of disasters that that emotional support and mental health supports for people who are evacuating their homes and their communities is very important.”
The city’s crisis communications team has been activated and will work out of the EOC. The city says clear and regular communication is paramount to ensure the safety of residents fleeing wildfire regions, and those who are involved in the rescue efforts.
The support will be provided at full cost recovery to the N.W.T.
2,000 Calgary hotel rooms opened for evacuees
Sol Zia, executive director of the Calgary Hotel Association, says the ball began rolling on plans to accommodate wildfire evacuees earlier this week with conversations on compassionate room rates, relaxing rules on pets, expanding dining areas and payment plans for those who are expected to receive financial support from the government.
“We have, at this point, at least 2,000 rooms that have been made available,” Zia told Global News on Thursday. “The hotel community has been quite supportive and many hotels that normally wouldn’t accept pets are accepting pets now.
“And many where they don’t normally have 24-hour dining facilities are ramping up, getting staff in to be able to prepare room service or meals for those folks coming in.”
The participating hotels are situated in all four quadrants of the city.
Zia says the circumstances for housing evacuees are quite unique and hotels have been working to procure necessary items, including basic toiletries, to help prepare for the arrival of the previously unexpected guests. He adds that hotels are better prepared for times of distress as a result of the pandemic and quarantine rooms.
“This can be quite challenging to hotels — it’s not just in Calgary, it could be anywhere in the province where evacuees come in — because housekeeping needs to be expanded. Evacuees are coming in (and) it’s not a vacation. They’re coming in for one or two weeks. They might be missing many amenities, it depends how quickly they had to scramble out of their houses.”
YMCA Calgary offers access to facilities for no charge for the duration of evacuations
YMCA Calgary is offering evacuees, with valid photo ID, free access to six locations for recreational use, and showering.
- Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton 4995 Market Street SE Calgary, AB
- Melcor YMCA at Crowfoot 8100 John Laurie Blvd NW Calgary, AB
- Remington YMCA in Quarry Park 108 Quarry Park Road SE Calgary, AB
- Saddletowne YMCA 180-7555 Falconridge Blvd NE Calgary, AB
- Shane Homes YMCA at Rocky Ridge 11300 Rocky Ridge Road NW Calgary, AB
- Shawnessy YMCA Canada 400-333 Shawville Blvd SE Calgary, AB
“Our hearts go out to all those affected by the ongoing crisis in the Northwest Territories caused by extreme fire conditions,” said Shannon Doram, president & CEO at YMCA Calgary.
“We are working closely with the City of Calgary and with our partners to ensure those people impacted are supported in their time of need.”
GoodLife Fitness has also opened their Calgary and Red Deer facilities and showers to evacuees.
On Friday, GoodLife Fitness said they will make change room facilities, bathrooms and showers in all Calgary and Red Deer clubs available for anyone displaced by the fires in the Northwest Territories until next week, and the timeline will be extended if needed.
Amenities available at GoodLife gyms include private shower stalls with shampoo, and conditioner, electrical outlets to charge mobile devices and towels. A full list of Goodlife locations is available here.
Smith offers sympathy, support
Premier Danielle Smith took to X, formerly Twitter, early Thursday afternoon to offer her sympathies for those affected by the Northwest Territories wildfires.
WestJet alters schedules, increases pet capacity
In response to the mandatory evacuation order issued by the government of the Northwest Territories, WestJet, on its website, says flexible change and cancel guidelines will be in place for all guests travelling to Yellowknife between Aug. 17 and 22. WestJet also say they adjusted fare classes to avoid price escalation to ensure guests evacuating are able to do so affordably.
To aid evacuation efforts, WestJet says they have added an extra recovery flight between Yellowknife and Calgary on Thursday and will use a larger aircraft to operate previously scheduled flights between Calgary and Yellowknife on WestJet flight WS221 and WS222.
To ensure as many guests as possible can bring their pets onboard all flights departing Yellowknife today, WestJet has increased the pets in cabin limit.
WestJet proactively cancelled six flights on Friday, Aug. 18, and Saturday, Aug. 19, and say they are working to notify guests and encourage them to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport.
Calgarians are being asked to check the N.W.T. websites to find campaigns to donate to, and they are asking locals not bring donations to the reception centres as they don’t have capacity.
The city says they recognize many people may be feeling overwhelmed by the images that they’re seeing, and support is available by dialing 211.
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