Slave Lake Fire

Samaritan’s Purse helping returning residents

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As evacuated residents returned to Slave Lake, AB in the weeks following the wildfires, Samaritan’s Purse staff and volunteers were there to assist in the recovery efforts.

All of the 7,000 residents were evacuated when fire swept through the community, destroying more than 400 homes, businesses, and government buildings. Whole subdivisions were burned to the ground and returning residents were distraught and overwhelmed.

Samaritan’s Purse volunteers from across Alberta and British Columbia initially assisted in the town’s emergency operations center, providing critical relief to local staff. Once residents began returning, our volunteers partnered with the local churches to provide assistance to families.

One of the services our volunteers were able to provide was removing fridges and freezers from homes. After a two week power outage, food was rotting and many of the appliances were not salvageable. For many residents, moving the heavy appliances to the street for safe disposal was physically impossible. Our volunteers assisted dozens of families with this task.

Just outside the town, our volunteers helped several families with the larger tasks of property clean-up, tree removal, and power-washing.

Throughout our activities in Slave Lake, Samaritan’s Purse volunteers worked alongside chaplains from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada to meet spiritual as well as physical needs of the community.

More than 60 people trained in the basics of emotional and spiritual care through the local church and empowered to go out and help their neighbors process the loss and trauma following the disaster.

“We are hearing stories of people who were evacuated out of here and how scary it was for them,” said volunteer Trudie Schimpf. “And I’ve heard people say, ‘I’ve never been so alone in my life – waiting to hear if my family is okay.’ I think people are going to be open to hearing the Gospel. I think they’re thinking more eternally.”

Making that important connection between physical and spiritual care is at the very heart of what Samaritan’s Purse does – in Slave Lake and around the world. Sharing God’s love through acts of service gives us the opportunity to gently remind people who’ve suffered through a tragedy that they have not been forgotten, and that they are loved by God.

Slake Lake Mayor Pillay-Kinnee has publicly thanked Samaritan’s Purse and our volunteers for helping her community – including bringing in our specially equipped Disaster Relief Unit.

The Disaster Relief Unit is outfitted with essential disaster recovery equipment including electricity generators, pumps, hand tools, and safety gear for volunteers. It is also equipped with a self-contained office, communications system, and other supplies.

The unit – and another based in Moncton, NB – has helped Samaritan’s Purse respond to natural disasters all across Canada in recent years. The Moncton is currently in southern Quebec helping residents recover from severe flooding.

 

Ways You Can Help
Pray Please ask God to provide encouragement and comfort to the people of Slave Lake who have lost their homes, and to the people whose homes survived but are still deeply shaken by the fire.		Give Partner with us to respond quickly to victims of disasters within Canada. Donate Here.