When floodwaters raged through southern Alberta in 2013, people from Across Alberta and Canada banded together to help ravaged communities in the days, weeks and months after the disaster.
It is now our turn to help.
The scale of last week’s wildfires in Fort McMurray is without equal in Alberta and requires a monumental response.
True to its generous nature, it did not take long for the Foothills community to band together to begin raising donations of whatever they could to help the 80,000 people forced from their homes because of the blaze. Members of Foothills fire departments immediately offered help fighting the fire and several firefighters were called up to shore up defenses against the blaze and give a break to exhausted comrades.
Fort McMurray’s residents have spread across the province, some have ended up in Okotoks where Foothills schools have opened their doors to the youths. It is overwhelming to watch the overflow of support that has come from all corners of the province and from across Canada. Still, so much more will be needed.
One of the greatest lessons from the 2013 floods in southern Alberta is what can be achieved when people come together to support devastated communities.
It is time to come together once again to support Fort McMurray.
Another lesson from the 2013 flood is that it will take time for life to return to normal. Three years later, there is still work to do in High River. It will take time, but Fort McMurray will be able to rebuild. Together, we can do our part to help Fort McMurray’s residents return home and rebuild their community just as was done for the Foothills.
