The small community of Lac la Biche, Alberta found itself front and centre in lending a helping hand to the streams of evacuees who fled their communities as a result of the ongoing wildfires in northern Alberta.
Roy Worthington, broker and owner at Royal LePage Lakeland Real Estate in Lac la Biche says his company is one of many from the town of 2,500 people that came together at the community’s Bold Centre to house, feed and outfit the more than 300 people who temporarily call the centre home.
“Everyone in the community has come together to lend a hand to what has become a 24-hour operation, involving hundreds of volunteers,” says Worthington. “The community is pitching in as the evacuation of nearby communities continues, which started with residents of Fort McMurray and has expanded rapidly to include many others.”
Worthington adds that people are arriving daily, often inquiring at his brokerage about temporary housing in the community of Lac la Biche. Evacuees are seeking cottages and other places they can rent or call home while they wait for news on their own communities and homes.
Editor’s note: Subsequent to the story above, REALTOR® Marian Barry provided an update on the status of her brokerage and team, Royal LePage True North Realty in Fort McMurray.
“Nothing definite yet but our house is okay as far as we know. Pretty sure the offices are too – may be some smoke and water damage. Insurance companies will be sending people up to assess the situation when allowed to do so. My daughter-in-law has been there all this time as she is a firefighter. I spoke to her yesterday and she estimates it could be a month to two months before we are allowed back in. Lots of hot spots, power is out and lots of issues with power grids. Water unsafe to drink and on and on. To date our agents who lost their homes are Gail Bibeau and Sarah Baron. Julio Florez lost a rental, but not his own. I think there may be a couple more that if not destroyed has substantially damage. All in all everyone has remained pretty calm even though reality is setting in now. There are lots of questions regarding the real estate side of things, but again with no lawyers or banks operational and the unknown condition of the homes everything is in limbo. So day-by-day we wait. On the brighter side the support and compassion being shown by everyone across Canada is truly amazing and inspiring. The stories that are coming out are unbelievable. Thanks so much Jim for your concern for all of us. Again so happy to be a part of this caring Company.
This story was originally featured on the Royal LePage Leading Edge website and has been adapted for our site with permission.
