When the wildfire nicknamed "The Beast” forced over 80,000 people out of the Fort McMurray area last week, Canadians fought back with a staggering amount of donations to the Red Cross to support evacuees. A little over a week after the donations started pouring in, the Red Cross is set to start distributing some of those funds.
When the wildfire nicknamed “The Beast” forced more than 80,000 people out of the Fort McMurray area last week, Canadians fought back with a staggering amount of donations to the Red Cross to support evacuees. So far that number sits at $50 million. A little over a week after the donations started pouring in, the Red Cross is set to start distributing some of those funds.
Evacuees will soon begin receiving financial assistance from the disaster relief organization. In a press release issued earlier today, officials said registered adults will each receive $600 in disaster relief, while children under 18 will each receive $300. In a statement, Red Cross president and CEO Conrad Sauve said the relief is much-needed.
“People affected by these fires left their homes with almost nothing. We have listened to their needs and developed our plan for immediate assistance based on what we heard,” he said. “This financial assistance allows evacuees to purchase what they require most after this disaster.”
The Canadian Government is matching donations to the Red Cross.
The Red Cross announcement came on the same day evacuees began receiving financial assistance from the Alberta government. Each adult will get $1,250 in provincial assistance, while each child under 18 will receive $500.
Evacuees in Lac La Biche began picking up the government assistance money earlier today at the Bold Center. The money is being distributed through pre-loaded debit cards that are available to evacuees who registered in Lac La Biche from 2-8 pm Wednesday, and 8 am to 8 pm Thursday at the Bold Center.
