She was also given a tour of the devastation in Fort McMurray.
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“EI is to be there when people need it and the folks at Fort McMurray definitely need it, so we’re stepping up”, Mihychuk said. “That of course doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be some really heartbreaking images for some people to see when they come back”.
Many parts of the town are still smouldering and large areas remain without power, water and gas.
Charles Brindamour, Intact’s chief executive officer, said in a statement that the company has sent more than 1,000 claims workers to the city to help customers who’ve lost their homes, cars and businesses.
Throughout the province, there are a total of 1,547 firefighters, 121 helicopters, 194 pieces of heavy equipment and 28 air tankers battling the fires.
Notley flew in Monday to meet with local officials and took a ground tour of the town before holding a news conference at the emergency centre.
Officials had expected the blaze to double in size on Saturday; instead, The Associated Press reports, it’s now slightly smaller than it was then.
DigitalGlobe used its WorldView-2 satellite and infrared imagery to depict the extent of the damage.
As an example of how the situation has improved, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he will visit Fort McMurray this Friday.
A burned-out barbecue and swing stand Monday in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Regional officials said on Facebook that firefighters were getting their first break since the fire began a week ago, after being relieved by reinforcements. But they noted cooler weather had slowed the fire’s spread and would help in the coming days. High temperatures and winds accelerated the blaze last week. The temperature dipped to 7 degrees Celsius on Monday following a week where the region had unseasonably warm temperatures.
“Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said they may be turning a corner” but it’s too early to celebrate and a lot of work remains. “If that were to continue for a month or two you would start to see measurable outcomes to our GDP”, Notley said.
Even so, authorities have warned that authorization for evacuees to return to their homes, or what is left of them, is not likely to be forthcoming for several weeks.
Fort McMurray is the center of Canada’s oil sands region.
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Oil production is down by a million barrels per day, and the longer operations are offline, the more it will cost the province. There is a possibility that the massive fire could reach the edges of the Suncor oil sands facility.
