By Taylor Chartrand

Former Medicine Hat resident looks to help wildfire evacuees

Jun 1, 2019 | 12:04 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – As the wildfires in northern Alberta rage out of control, one former resident of Medicine Hat has decided it’s his time to help out.

Brady Cameron is leading the charge to get Hatters to step up and help evacuees in need.

“I’m just trying to help out any place they’ve got evacuation sites set up,” explained Cameron. “There’s been about 10,000 people that have been re-homed because of the fires right now.”

Cameron then added he is looking for residents to donate several items.

“Stuff like blankets, pillows, toiletries, gift cards for grocery stores, bottled water and non-perishables. Just stuff along those lines, as a lot of people didn’t have time to pack.”

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Cameron says he was trying to collect donations for the ‘Pay It Forward’ group out of Edmonton, but he wasn’t able to arrange a pick-up location in our City.

“I’m just going to suggest and ask that people go to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and mention what it’s for. I know they’ll be open to donations for sure.”

But, Communications Advisor Graeme Burns with the Canadian Red Cross in Edmonton says that may not be the best option.

“The Alberta government is leading the response for the wildfires,” explained Burns. “If requested, we will assist in the response, as we do have personnel and resources on standby. The best option for the public to get involved with assistance is to contact the province directly.”

CHAT News did reach out to the Alberta government and they directed us to a donations page which can be found here.

They ask you fill out an extensive form in regards to your donation and are looking for things such as:

• communications services or devices
• food and water
• equipment (generators, forklifts, lighting, signage, etc)
• human resources (volunteers, NGO, paid personnel, etc)
• lodging/facilities (hotels, community centres, churches, etc)
• materials and supplies (fuel, blankets, cots, pet supplies, etc)
• services (child care, consulting, pet care, etc)
• transport (passenger vans, buses, aircraft, etc)

Cameron says residents should consider doing their part, as you never know when this may impact you.

“I’m just hoping that everybody will work together as a community and help everybody out,” explained Cameron. “Considering a lot of us are safe away from the fires and there’s a lot of people that aren’t, right? I think the ones that are able to and safe,  should try to help out the ones that aren’t.”

For more information on the wildfires, you can call 310-4455 in Alberta or 1-780-427-2711 if you’re out of province.

You can also find updates through the government of Alberta Twitter handle @YourAlberta.