LAC LA BICHE – Residents of the Village of Boyle and Athabasca County who were ordered to evacuate their homes on May 6 due to wildfires, received assistance from a reception centre that had been set at the Parkland Motel II during the time they stayed in Lac La Biche.
John Kokotilo, the general manager of protective services for Lac La Biche County, said the reception centre went very well, there were no major issues, and local emergency services staff were able to maintain good communication with officials in Athabasca County.
“It went extremely, extremely smooth,” Kokotilo told Lakeland This Week on May 9. “It was a well-planned, well-coordinated event. The people were very good. It just all worked out very well.”
According to Kokotilo, who also serves as the regional fire chief for the municipality, evacuees were able to access a variety of supports and services at the reception centre.
“They were able to get transportation, they were able to get accommodations, food service, snacks, mental health supports,” he said. “There wasn’t too much involved with childcare, but that would have been available if needed.”
Shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, an evacuation began of the Village of Boyle. High winds from the south continued to push an out-of-control wildfire burning south of the village in the area of Boyle Fishpond and Ellscott turnoff towards the community. Earlier that day, some rural residents in the area had been asked to evacuate.
On May 8, residents of the Village of Boyle and Athabasca County residents on Township Road 642 and Range Road 195 were permitted re-entry to homes. However, those residents of Athabasca County on Highway 831 south of Boyle (which had been closed due to wildfires) were still under an evacuation order at that time.
A social media post on the afternoon of May 9 from Athabasca County stated that the evacuation order had been lifted and the 831 fire classified as ‘under control’. A further update from Athabasca County explained that Highway 831 south of Boyle was to be opened with restrictions at 6 p.m. on May 9.
“Signage will be located on the highway indicating a change of speed limit, and direction to avoid stopping on the highway. Please obey any traffic signs or ground crews and drive with caution. This is considered a construction zone and enforcement will be on scene,” said the information.
According to Kokotilo, there were 253 individuals from 110 households registered at the reception centre. A total number of 131 pets were also registered by their owners.
Assisting the Boyle and Athabasca evacuees were staff with Lac La Biche County FCSS and Lac La Biche County Protective Services, whose divisions include fire services, enforcement, and emergency management.
Kokotilo said the municipality has a very strong emergency management team.
“We’ve really built that team since the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire,” he said. “Since then, we’ve got almost 200 of our staff trained in emergency management.”
Lac La Biche County has mutual aid agreements with neighbouring municipalities, which means accommodating evacuees from areas affected by wildfires, but also sending firefighters to assist in the efforts to put out those fires.
When a wildfire starts, Kokotilo explained, officials watch the growth of that wildfire, and then determine whether or not they want to evacuate a particular area.
Kokotilo received a call on May 6 from Bob Beck, the CAO and director of emergency management (DEM) for Athabasca County, who asked if Lac La Biche County was able to open up an evacuation centre.
“We opened up the evacuation centre to get it moving because people were already starting to leave from the Boyle area and come towards our area. So, it had to be done very quickly,” he said.
A crew of firefighters with Lac La Biche County Fire Rescue also took part in battling the wildfires in the Boyle and Athabasca areas. These firefighters, according to Kokotilo, were joined by neighbouring fire departments and in Kikino Metis Settlement and Beaver Lake Cree Nation, who are also mutual aid partners with Lac La Biche County Fire Rescue.
Having the ability to help neighbouring communities in times of crisis such as wildfires, Kokotilo said, brings with it a great feeling.
“It’s always a feeling of satisfaction, it’s a feeling of helping somebody else,” he said.
