Chief’s Evacuee Statement – Draft #1
Good evening everyone, I just wanted to personally thank all the women and men who have done so much to help our community and our residents over the last week. The Council and our managers went through an emergency management planning process over a week ago with our extraordinary Band Manager, Jason Wigton. We did our best to prepare and when the evacuation was declared our team delivered an excellent job. PTFN’s process of removing the Trout Lake residents and other high-risk individuals to safety went extremely well and provincial officials said it was one of the best they’ve ever experienced. We had a team of staff and support workers in Edmonton who worked long into the night on Friday and over this weekend to secure over 130 rooms at 5 hotels to provide shelter and we’ve also arranged for food for all of our evacuees. A Personal Care Centre will open tomorrow to provide hygiene items. We’ve also had teams of Fire Fighters and other staff from our community and other locations doing everything possible to protect Trout Lake from the wild fire. These are difficult times but we have come together to support and help one another. A very sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone and the various agencies, government departments, or companies that have stepped up to help out in any way. Chief Gladys Okemow