Bonnyville Expecting 300 Additional Evacuees

Fire Chief Brian McEvoy updated MD of Bonnyville Council this morning on Bonnyville’s evacuee status and says the town is expecting 300 more evacuees after the provincial payment is paid out late this week.

“As of this morning, we’ve been informed that we can expect approximately 300 more people, being moved here, from the Bold centre, in Lac La Biche.” McEvoy explains the plan is to put the evacuees in hotel until full and then into vacant work camps. “We’re underway coordinating with Lac La Biche. The transition will start this afternoon, after they’ve received their cash cards from the Province.” The cash cards are expected today and tomorrow, evacuees are asked to stay where they have registered until they receive word that payment is ready. The Province of Alberta has announced it will be supporting evacuees with cash of $1250 per adult and $500 per dependent. “The Province is providing those cash cards starting this afternoon,” McEvoy says evacuees will have to go to one of the four centres the government has previously address. The closest centre to Bonnyville being the Bold Centre in Lac La Biche.

“In the Town of Bonnyville and vicinity, we’ve registered roughly 380 evacuees from Fort McMurray,” McEvoy says there’s more to just taking names, “we’ve been helping find accommodations where available and providing them access to clothing, food and those types of services.”

Evacuees in Bonnyville are being transitioned from cots to hotel rooms, report Chief Administrative Officer for the MD of Bonnyville, Chris Cambridge, “we have arrangements with all the local hotels to put evacuees who do not have the wherewithal to [pay for] their own hotels. We looking at bringing people in who wish to come in who are in cots at other rec centres to fill the hotel rooms that we have here.

Evacuees have been advised to stay where they are until the payment is ready, which is expected on Thursday. Below is a joint release from the MD & Town of Bonnyville

The Town of Bonnyville and Municipal District of Bonnyville recommend Fort McMurray residents staying in our area, if they can, to wait until Thursday morning to make their way to Lac La Biche to pick up the money being made available by the provincial government.

 Organizers at the Bold Centre advise the lineup to acquire the government payments will be long today.

 The Bold Centre will be open Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to release provincial payments to evacuees, in addition to today’s hours of 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

CAO Cambridge, says the support from the community has been incredible, “there is ongoing support from the community, there are still we need, and some we don’t need (like water). If you go to our website, md.bonnyville.ab.ca, you’ll find what’s required at this point.” BCHS is housing the donation centre, while the Bonnyville Baptist Church is coordinating bringing in the donations. Donations of used clothing is not needed, however new items are required, such as new underwear.\

 

Meals for evacuees will be provided at the C2 Recreation Centre (4313-50 Ave). All evacuees must be registered through the reception centre, also at the C2, in order to access these meals.

Meal times will be as follows:

Continental Breakfast – 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Lunch – 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Dinner – 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

 

The Centennial Centre  is still operating as a check-in centre (open 10:00 am to 6:00 pm) to ensure everyone is accounted for, needs and services are met and the province and Red Cross has an accurate count of whom is where. The Bonnyville Emergency Management committee meets twice a day to run the operation. “We will be providing food services and support services out of the C2, for [evacuees]. Alberta Works and social services.” The timeline for how long Bonnyville will house evacuees is indefinite at this time.