It was the first time their neighbourhood could be reentered since wildfires caused an evacuation of the city on May 3, and the Perrys wasted little time getting there.
“It’s nice to be home,” Ivy said.
From Highway 63 on the way home they could see the destruction the fire caused in the Waterways neighbourhood, “It was tough to see, all those homes destroyed,” she admitted.
The Perrys neighbourhood, as a live video feed had already confirmed, was spared the destruction. About the only hint that a fire came close was a faint smell of smoke outside, something she described as being similar to the smell from a wood-burning furnace.
Of course there were some tell-tale signs that their neighbourhood had been abandoned for a full month, like lawns with knee-high grass, and evidence of vehicles not having moved in a while.
All the way into the city, the Perrys read sign after sign welcoming them back and messages of the city’s resolve to rebuild.
And then there were the firemen standing on their firetrucks atop an overpass welcoming them home.
“That was something to see. That kind of got me emotional.”
One of her biggest surprises, though, was what she didn’t see. “I was expecting us to be stopped in traffic coming into the city. I thought there would be a lot of people heading in today, but it almost seemed like there was as much traffic southbound, out of the city.”
She figures some residents returned long enough to pick up some belongings and headed back out again.
As for the Perrys, they’re there to stay. A natural gas truck was across the street when they arrived, so they got their gas turned bac on right away.
And then they went about clearing everything out of their fridge and freezer. Although it didn’t appear their power had been out for an extended period of time, she said they were not taking any chances and would be taking the food to the landfill that day before restocking.
They brought supplies with them from Edmonton, including several flats of drinking water. A boil order is still in affect in their city.
They also stopped by a Red Cross station en route and picked up supplies. “They’re doing an awesome job,” she remarked about the Red Cross support. The same, she said, is true for the natural gas company that is patrolling the neighbourhod from early morning to night hooking up homes as residents return.
There was also an information package on their step when they arrived. “I’m telling you, they did an awesome job here,” she marveled.
As more residents returns, Ivy anticipates there will be some sort of block party so that neighbours can get together to discuss their experiences, much like how the neighbours gathered out front, as they were evacuating, wondering what was going to happen.
