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Calgary opens new lodging for wildfire evacuees who could number 3,000

City officials say other reception centres could be added in the coming days as the number of refugees from northern Alberta — currently at 450 in Calgary — is expected to swell.

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With word the city could be taking in up to 3,000 Fort McMurray evacuees, the city opened two more shelters Friday and urged residents to open their homes.

Ambrose University and College, and the University of Calgary opened their doors to those fleeing the wildfires who don’t have home billets in Calgary.

City officials say other reception centres could be added in the coming days as the number of evacuees from northern Alberta — about 500 in Calgary on Friday — is expected to swell considerably, said Calgary Emergency Management Agency chief Tom Sampson.

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“It’s been one of the toughest things to forecast, but we could have in the area of 2,000 to 3,000,” he said, adding Calgarians opening their homes would take pressure off a dorm system now swinging into action.

“We encourage you to put them up so we can make space for people without lodging.”

Fire refugees staying with friends or family are still eligible for social services that includes transit passes, medical care, personal items and food, said the city.

It’s a package that also include free Calgary Zoo passes, noted Sampson.

Pets are welcome at the reception centres, which also includes the Residential Tower at SAIT Polytechnic and could extend to lodging at Mount Royal University and the Stampede Grounds. At the University of Calgary, pets are also being cared for at the faculty of veterinary medicine. 

Those fleeing the fires have been arriving in Calgary largely by air and it’s not known how long they’ll be staying in Calgary, though it could be of long duration, said Sampson.

“We’re not talking about 72 hours of shelter,” he said.

Among the arrivals were Ahmed Dawud, his wife Haifa al-Khattub and their two daughters who still don’t know the fate of the lighting store and home they left behind.

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But Dawud, who’d showed up at an already-full SAIT, said the kindness of helpers lightened their burden.

“All Albertans are extremely nice and very giving,” he said.

“They’re very emotional when they know we’re from Fort McMurray and they try to help us out with everything they can.”

Those reception centres include medical resources such as nurses, pharmacists and mental health experts like grief counsellers for those who’ve been through considerable trauma, said Alberta Health Services. 

We understand and acknowledge that this is an incredibly difficult and challenging time for those who have been evacuated from the Fort McMurray area,” said an AHS statement.

Physicians will also be on hand to treat chronic conditions that might have been worsened by the exodus from Ft. McMurray, such as asthma and diabetes.

AHS said its staff are eager to take part, as proven by the 600 who agreed to help by early Friday afternoon after a request went out Thursday evening.

Alberta Health Services has created a page of resources for evacuees with health questions.

The city’s two main school boards are also enrolling the children of uprooted families, though they say it’s too early to determine the numbers they’ll be accepting, said Megan Geyer of the Calgary Board of Education (CBE).

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“The CBE is already registering students who have been evacuated from their homes, and we are happy to welcome them into our schools,” Geyer said Friday in an email.

“This will enable them to resume some sort of normalcy during this stressful time. We will work with Alberta Education to ensure that the transition goes as smoothly as possible.”

Both school boards have already been handling an influx of refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East, with the CBE accepting 427 students as of March 14.

Enrolment information for newly-arrived families is available here and here https://www.cssd.ab.ca/Parents/Registration/FortMcMurrayStudentRegistration/Pages/default.aspx

The City also provided this list of 66 Calgary hotels with vacancies, though it’s up to those using them to check prices.

 More spaces are likely to open up. The University of Calgary, which welcomed 20 evacuees Friday afternoon, says it has room for 380 in total and is working to free up more space.

A host of Calgary-based Facebook pages acting as bulletin boards for donations, lodging and fundraising events, such as Calgary Helps Fort McMurray and Area, have sprung up.

  • with files from Alia Dharssi 

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

on Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn

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