As 100 Mile House prepares a re-entry plan for local residents, officials are taking advice from officials behind the Fort McMurray re-entry just more than a year ago.

91裸聊视频淲hat we91裸聊视频檝e done is we91裸聊视频檙e using some of their re-entry and 91裸聊视频� we are learning from some of the stuff they91裸聊视频檝e done and what worked, what doesn91裸聊视频檛 work in re-entry,91裸聊视频� says 100 Mile House Mayor Mitch Campsall.

91裸聊视频淪o yeah, we91裸聊视频檙e kind of following some of their guidelines 91裸聊视频� a good portion of them.91裸聊视频�

Jordan Redshaw, the communications manager for the recovery task force for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (the district that includes Fort McMurray), says that while the official lessons learned have not been released by the municipality, they are 91裸聊视频渙pen to sharing everything with municipalities in B.C. as it goes through this challenging time.91裸聊视频�

100 Mile House Emergency Operations Centre planner, Joanne Doddridge, says that representatives of Fort McMurray provided 91裸聊视频渞ecommendations, practices and key planning tools to help us start to focus our own efforts on re-entry.91裸聊视频�

To new beginnings. .... 馃挋

91裸聊视频� Janis Sexton (@Ez4u2say_Janis)

Both Redshaw and Campsall stress that the situations faced by re-entry into Fort McMurray and what the Cariboo will face, while generally similar, have their own peculiarities.

91裸聊视频淲e adapted these tools to our own situation here in 100 Mile House which helped us understand the myriad of factors to consider in preparing for a safe return for residents,91裸聊视频� says Doddridge.

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In Fort McMurray, close to 90,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the city and surrounding areas, many receiving little notice. The community also lost 1,958 structures in the fire, many in neighbourhoods within the city boundaries. Evacuees were also unable to return to their homes for a month following the wildfire.

To date, in the Cariboo Regional District (CRD), approximately 35,116 people have been impacted by evacuation orders and alerts over an area about 24,000 sq. km. While neither the City of Williams Lake nor the District of 100 Mile House have lost structures to date, surrounding areas have seen at least 41 structures lost with more expected to be announced.

In Fort McMurray, re-entry was phased over a substantial period of time.

91裸聊视频淭he intent of that was to offset the amount of stress on the information centres as well as capacity for if people were to return home, because we91裸聊视频檙e so isolated up here, and find that they weren91裸聊视频檛 able to stay in their homes, that the hotel accommodation would be able to absorb that additional population,91裸聊视频� says Redshaw.

91裸聊视频淎nd to make sure that through that period we also weren91裸聊视频檛 over-stressing the amount of traffic on the highway.91裸聊视频�

The process was spread over the first four days of June, 2016.

91裸聊视频淭he intent was to mitigate a lot of those safety factors to offset the impact on residents as they returned so they could have as smooth a transition as possible,91裸聊视频� says Redshaw.

Three communities were deemed 91裸聊视频渦nsafe to live in91裸聊视频� by the chief medical officer of health because of the amount of damage in the area, says Redshaw, so re-entry in those communities took longer because of the clean up needed to be done. Re-entry there began towards the end of August.

Before re-entry could happen, however, Alberta91裸聊视频檚 premier established five conditions to be met:

• Wildfire is no longer an imminent threat to the community.
• Critical infrastructure is repaired to provide basic service
• Essential services, such as fire, EMS, police and healthcare are restored.
• Hazardous areas are secure (100 truckloads of fencing was sent to Fort McMurray)
• Local government is re-established

Redshaw also says that enough critical businesses such as gas stations, banks and grocery stores were in place to support a residential population.

91裸聊视频淚t was new for all of us,91裸聊视频� says Redshaw. 91裸聊视频淓very piece that we were encountering along the way in a disaster to this magnitude was new to a certain extent.91裸聊视频�

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He says one of the big things they learned was communicating with residents.

91裸聊视频淏eing open and transparent with them about what91裸聊视频檚 going on and what91裸聊视频檚 happening and making sure that you are listening to residents in terms of their needs and what their current challenges are.91裸聊视频�

Another challenge he says was working with various levels of government in determining which responsibilities belonged to whom.

In the Cariboo, the CRD, the City of Williams Lake, the District of 100 Mile House and local First Nations governments are working together to co-ordinate the re-entry process. To date, 100 Mile House is the community closest to having essential services in place for a return.

91裸聊视频淥ne of the big things that we91裸聊视频檝e learned through this is that the challenges are going to be unique to every particular area,91裸聊视频� Redshaw says. 91裸聊视频淥ne of the biggest and most important things is that everyone has and experiences an event like this in a unique manner. There are no two stories that are ever going to be the same.91裸聊视频�

In the Cariboo, for example, the 108 Mile Ranch area lost power for several days following the evacuation order, while 100 Mile House and Williams Lake remain with electricity. Dealing with fridges will be one hurdle the regional district will have to overcome in bringing people home.

In Fort McMurray, the Insurance Bureau of Canada hired a contractor to pick up fridges that home owners were instructed to leave on their lawn. Over 11,000 fridges and freezers were collected in a short period of time in order to keep a new issue 91裸聊视频� wildlife finding containers of food all over 91裸聊视频� from happening.

Other differences can come down to the type of insurance a homeowner has, the damage to their property, to the age and stage of life an individual is in, to the type of evacuation procedure they faced.

91裸聊视频淚t is going to take individuals different amounts of time, and recovery will be different for every single person who was impacted by this, so acknowledging that right from the get go is certainly beneficial to being able to understanding the length of time it is going to take but also how each individual is impacted as a whole and the emotional experiences that they are going through for recovery.91裸聊视频�

Redshaw also stresses seeking mental health support.

91裸聊视频淐ollectively communities need to look out for residents and the communities need to look out for one another and really look to support each other through a really trying time.

But again, even for those who have lost versus those who may not have lost everyone is going to be going through their own cycle of experience to that and their emotional response to everything that has happened to them.

I think that the biggest thing over all is to make sure to reach out for mental health support. I can91裸聊视频檛 stress that enough in terms of the impact that has,91裸聊视频� he says.

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91裸聊视频淭he mental health support is arguably the biggest piece of what will be forthcoming in the long run. Losing property is always tough and managing grief and loss can be quite challenging. There is a lot of emotional impact that comes from that and often times, it91裸聊视频檚 hard for us to recognize that in ourselves, so getting the mental health support we need 91裸聊视频� that everyone needs 91裸聊视频� and making sure that you91裸聊视频檙e supporting one another and your neighbours throughout this very trying time is really critical.91裸聊视频�

According to 100 Mile Mayor Mitch Campsall, while re-entry is not expected immediately, it91裸聊视频檚 a whole lot closer.

91裸聊视频淲e are working really hard and the light is getting a lot brighter 91裸聊视频� to put it that way 91裸聊视频� at the end of the tunnel,91裸聊视频� he says.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 very close.91裸聊视频�

A press release put out by the CRD says that individuals are in the process of arriving for providing essential services to the area.

91裸聊视频淲e are doing everything we can to get this going,91裸聊视频� says Campsall. 91裸聊视频淲e need people home and we91裸聊视频檙e not slowing anything down. We are making sure that when people come home, they91裸聊视频檙e safe and that91裸聊视频檚 our key.91裸聊视频�