Residents displaced by wildfires in Alberta are eligible to receive emergency payments from the government.
On Monday, Premier Danielle Smith announced that individuals who have been forced to evacuate their homes in Alberta due to wildfires for seven days or more will receive one-time emergency payments.
Eligible adults will be provided with $1,250, and for every dependent child under 18, an extra payment of $500 will be given.
As per Smith’s statement during a wildfire situation update on Monday afternoon, a family of four who have been evacuated will receive $3,500 to help them cope during these difficult times and cover their immediate expenses.
“We want to be open to seeing if there are individuals in some of those existing rural and remote communities who can integrate into the existing teams so we can have as many hands on deck to fight the fires locally as possible.”
The premier has requested trained firefighters to volunteer in the fight against the wildfires, particularly those who are already in rural and remote areas.
Smith also mentioned that she has been informed that up to 450 members of Indigenous communities in northern Alberta have firefighting expertise.
At present, there are 700 wildland firefighters in Alberta, and Premier Smith stated that the province is expecting up to 1,000 reinforcements to arrive next week from Yukon, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
Additional firefighters have already been sent from other parts of the country, including teams from Quebec and Ontario.
Manitoba has also pledged to send firefighters and equipment, including two water bombers stationed in Lac La Biche, approximately 170 kilometers northeast of Edmonton. Moreover, Smith announced that 300 soldiers trained in firefighting from Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, are available, and reservists have been called up to help in the effort.
As of Monday afternoon, the situation in Alberta remained unpredictable, with 98 active wildfires, including 27 that are still burning uncontrollably. The number of displaced individuals has reached approximately 30,000.
