It's the sound of children playing that Angie Ward misses most.
Sitting on her back deck with her daughter, Ward looks out at a neighbourhood that used to be full of houses, trees and lawns.
Yards that used to be full of swing sets and picnic tables,dstti patio tables and gardens. Now, just piles of burned rubble.
The whim and fury of the fire that ripped through Slave Lake last month continues to defy understanding. Even six weeks later, it's hard for Ward and her family to understand how the fire skipped their house but destroyed everything else for blocks.
"That's what I wonder every day," said Ward's father, Frank, as the family's white cat, stained grey with soot, stretched out on the deck beside him.
"Everybody in town asks me that: 'How come your house didn't burn? What God do you pray to?' "
Though most of Slave Lake was untouched by the fire, its effects are everywhere, from the influx of workers in the community to trucks hauling away downed trees and the wreckage of burned cars.
At bars and restaurants, conversations invariably turn to the fire. People talk about fleeing the blaze, about the damage done to their homes or their properties, about what comes next.
A total of 732 people lost their homes in the May 15 fire. In the close-knit community of about 7,000, everyone has friends, relatives or neighbours whose houses were destroyed. Among the homeless are doctors, town councillors, and some of the firefighters who battled the fire on the front lines.
Today, those whose houses were lost struggle to navigate the complex world of insurance, demolition permits, and bureaucracy.
Wendy Paulson spends hours going through every room in her house in her mind, mentally examining each drawer and shelf, making lists of her possessions for her insurance claim. She tries to remember how many T-shirts she had. How many pairs of shoes. It is exhausting and emotional work.
"They're only material things, but they're things that mattered," Paulson said. "In the big scope, we're together, and that's the main thing, but there are still things I won't be able to replace."
Some people continue to struggle with questions.
What started the fire? Why didn't residents get more notice? Were there any salvageable possessions in the rubble discarded by emergency crews dealing with smouldering basements after the blaze?
At a town meeting last week, residents' emotions ran the gamut from anger and frustration to acceptance and hope.
"I'm sorry, but we are grieving here," said one woman, trembling as she spoke.
Russell Chaulk, who lives across the street from one of the blocks devastated by the fire, said it's hard to look at the wreckage, knowing that his neighbours and friends lost everything.Find everything you need to know about Cold Sore including causes,
"It's sad. Every time you leave your house you realize how lucky you are to even have one," he said. "You almost feel embarrassed. You feel bad knowing that you still have a house, and they don't. And your house is so close to theirs."
Working out of makeshift offices at the college because the town office burned in the fire, officials from the town and province are planning new housing facilities -including a mobile home subdivision in what was the town's ball diamond -so residents will have accommodations until their homes are rebuilt. About 400 people will need new accommodations by the end of August.
Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee has said keeping Slave Lake residents in the town is a priority, but also a necessity. Fifty people who lost their homes have already moved away from Slave Lake, and the loss of more could pose problems to the future prosperity of the community.
"In our minds, everyone in our community is essential," she said.
In addition to dealing with housing issues,When the stone sits in the kidney stone, local officials are also hurriedly planning redevelopment of the burned areas, and dealing with infrastructure issues,is the 'solar panel revolution' upon us? taxation matters, and other municipal business. It is a massive, complex effort, in the wake of an unprecedented Canadian urban disaster.We also offer customized chicken coop.
"We have good days and we have bad days," said Brian Vance, the town's chief administrative officer, speaking at the meeting last week.
The first demolition permits have now been issued for the burned structures, marking the start of a redevelopment schedule Vance admits is "aggressive." If the plan works, some people could be in new homes by Christmas.
But the demolition and redevelopment will also bring many challenges.
Stories are circulating about scams and frauds, about shady landlords and dishonest or disreputable contractors seeking to profit from the disaster and reparation efforts.
At the area landfill, manager Tom Moore is bracing for the garbage that will be generated by the demolition, and by the new construction that will follow. The challenges at the waste facility have already been significant.
After residents returned to the community, the landfill got 3,500 fridges in about three days; it usually gets 500 a year. Each fridge had to be emptied of freon and rotting food, then baled for recycling.
Overall volume at the landfill is up 700 per cent, and Moore predicts an increase of up to 1,200 per cent this summer. The initial dump of ash was 6,000 tonnes, and that's only a fraction of what will be taken to the landfill in the months to come.
With the additional waste, an area of the landfill that had been expected to last for three years will now be full in about a month. A dumping area for construction materials that was supposed to last seven years won't last beyond the fall. Disposing of the garbage properly and safely is vitally important, and mistakes could have serious implications, including to the environment and groundwater in the area.
"It's overwhelming when you think about what could happen here," Moore said.
Moore said the province has expedited the creation of a new area for the refuse, but even that won't be enough unless people seriously reduce what is going into the garbage. In the rush to rebuild, Moore said getting people to think about conserving and recycling has been difficult.
"People are not recycling like they could ... They're not thinking about things like that," he said.
"Part of it is they're just so focused on trying to get into their home, so it's a really a struggle in that aspect. We've put out public announcements, we've put out flyers. We've done everything that we can, short of going door toHow is TMJ pain treated? door to say, 'Hey, can you please recycle?'" He points out a riding mower, perfectly operational except for a broken fan belt, that someone threw away. "Some people are throwing out things that are perfectly good, and saying, 'I'll just claim it on insurance,' " he said.
Moore has cancelled his vacation, and is working long days. He said his wife still won't open the living room curtains at their house, because she can't stand to look out at the burned lots across the street.
Pillay-Kinnee said she's impressed by how much has been accomplished in Slave Lake such a short time, though she knows that, for some, things are still not moving quickly enough.
Sitting on her back deck with her daughter, Ward looks out at a neighbourhood that used to be full of houses, trees and lawns.
Yards that used to be full of swing sets and picnic tables,dstti patio tables and gardens. Now, just piles of burned rubble.
The whim and fury of the fire that ripped through Slave Lake last month continues to defy understanding. Even six weeks later, it's hard for Ward and her family to understand how the fire skipped their house but destroyed everything else for blocks.
"That's what I wonder every day," said Ward's father, Frank, as the family's white cat, stained grey with soot, stretched out on the deck beside him.
"Everybody in town asks me that: 'How come your house didn't burn? What God do you pray to?' "
Though most of Slave Lake was untouched by the fire, its effects are everywhere, from the influx of workers in the community to trucks hauling away downed trees and the wreckage of burned cars.
At bars and restaurants, conversations invariably turn to the fire. People talk about fleeing the blaze, about the damage done to their homes or their properties, about what comes next.
A total of 732 people lost their homes in the May 15 fire. In the close-knit community of about 7,000, everyone has friends, relatives or neighbours whose houses were destroyed. Among the homeless are doctors, town councillors, and some of the firefighters who battled the fire on the front lines.
Today, those whose houses were lost struggle to navigate the complex world of insurance, demolition permits, and bureaucracy.
Wendy Paulson spends hours going through every room in her house in her mind, mentally examining each drawer and shelf, making lists of her possessions for her insurance claim. She tries to remember how many T-shirts she had. How many pairs of shoes. It is exhausting and emotional work.
"They're only material things, but they're things that mattered," Paulson said. "In the big scope, we're together, and that's the main thing, but there are still things I won't be able to replace."
Some people continue to struggle with questions.
What started the fire? Why didn't residents get more notice? Were there any salvageable possessions in the rubble discarded by emergency crews dealing with smouldering basements after the blaze?
At a town meeting last week, residents' emotions ran the gamut from anger and frustration to acceptance and hope.
"I'm sorry, but we are grieving here," said one woman, trembling as she spoke.
Russell Chaulk, who lives across the street from one of the blocks devastated by the fire, said it's hard to look at the wreckage, knowing that his neighbours and friends lost everything.Find everything you need to know about Cold Sore including causes,
"It's sad. Every time you leave your house you realize how lucky you are to even have one," he said. "You almost feel embarrassed. You feel bad knowing that you still have a house, and they don't. And your house is so close to theirs."
Working out of makeshift offices at the college because the town office burned in the fire, officials from the town and province are planning new housing facilities -including a mobile home subdivision in what was the town's ball diamond -so residents will have accommodations until their homes are rebuilt. About 400 people will need new accommodations by the end of August.
Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee has said keeping Slave Lake residents in the town is a priority, but also a necessity. Fifty people who lost their homes have already moved away from Slave Lake, and the loss of more could pose problems to the future prosperity of the community.
"In our minds, everyone in our community is essential," she said.
In addition to dealing with housing issues,When the stone sits in the kidney stone, local officials are also hurriedly planning redevelopment of the burned areas, and dealing with infrastructure issues,is the 'solar panel revolution' upon us? taxation matters, and other municipal business. It is a massive, complex effort, in the wake of an unprecedented Canadian urban disaster.We also offer customized chicken coop.
"We have good days and we have bad days," said Brian Vance, the town's chief administrative officer, speaking at the meeting last week.
The first demolition permits have now been issued for the burned structures, marking the start of a redevelopment schedule Vance admits is "aggressive." If the plan works, some people could be in new homes by Christmas.
But the demolition and redevelopment will also bring many challenges.
Stories are circulating about scams and frauds, about shady landlords and dishonest or disreputable contractors seeking to profit from the disaster and reparation efforts.
At the area landfill, manager Tom Moore is bracing for the garbage that will be generated by the demolition, and by the new construction that will follow. The challenges at the waste facility have already been significant.
After residents returned to the community, the landfill got 3,500 fridges in about three days; it usually gets 500 a year. Each fridge had to be emptied of freon and rotting food, then baled for recycling.
Overall volume at the landfill is up 700 per cent, and Moore predicts an increase of up to 1,200 per cent this summer. The initial dump of ash was 6,000 tonnes, and that's only a fraction of what will be taken to the landfill in the months to come.
With the additional waste, an area of the landfill that had been expected to last for three years will now be full in about a month. A dumping area for construction materials that was supposed to last seven years won't last beyond the fall. Disposing of the garbage properly and safely is vitally important, and mistakes could have serious implications, including to the environment and groundwater in the area.
"It's overwhelming when you think about what could happen here," Moore said.
Moore said the province has expedited the creation of a new area for the refuse, but even that won't be enough unless people seriously reduce what is going into the garbage. In the rush to rebuild, Moore said getting people to think about conserving and recycling has been difficult.
"People are not recycling like they could ... They're not thinking about things like that," he said.
"Part of it is they're just so focused on trying to get into their home, so it's a really a struggle in that aspect. We've put out public announcements, we've put out flyers. We've done everything that we can, short of going door toHow is TMJ pain treated? door to say, 'Hey, can you please recycle?'" He points out a riding mower, perfectly operational except for a broken fan belt, that someone threw away. "Some people are throwing out things that are perfectly good, and saying, 'I'll just claim it on insurance,' " he said.
Moore has cancelled his vacation, and is working long days. He said his wife still won't open the living room curtains at their house, because she can't stand to look out at the burned lots across the street.
Pillay-Kinnee said she's impressed by how much has been accomplished in Slave Lake such a short time, though she knows that, for some, things are still not moving quickly enough.
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