Several residents of Abasand and Beacon Hill who were displaced by the Fort McMurray wildfire four months ago were finally permitted to return to their homes Wednesday. Although many homes were deemed safe to return to, almost all of the affected properties are in need of extensive rebuilding.
According to
CTV News, there are 429 homes still standing in Abasand and 245 in Beacon Hill—a total of 674 properties. Of those 674, 439 have been cleared for their owners to return to. While evacuees were allowed to visit their homes over the previous month, it was only last Wednesday when select homeowners were allowed to stay. Permits have been made available to those looking to rebuild their homes.
The re-entry process is being facilitated in stages, with the first batch of homeowners allowed to return the group whose properties were not as badly affected by the fire.
Not all Fort McMurray communities were as fortunate as Abasand and Beacon Hill. Residents of Waterways have yet to hear any word about when they will be allowed to return.
CTV News reported that 85% of the homes in Waterways were destroyed by the fire, and while the fire has long been contained, the area is still generally unsafe for residents to return to.
Insurance remains a major issue for homeowners displaced by the conflagration. Industry reports peg insured losses following the wildfire at $3.58 billion—making the Fort McMurray fire the most expensive natural catastrophe in the country’s history to date, according to the
Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Homeowners are understandably worried about how their insurers would handle their wildfire claims, and if their houses can be immediately rebuilt. Abasand resident Erin Orgren is one of the 235 homeowners who have not yet been cleared to return to their properties, and already she has insurance concerns.
“Optimistically, I would like to be home by October,” Orgren told
CTV News, noting that her insurer is still in the process of assessing the damage of her home. “But I think realistically, it’s probably going to be closer to November.”
Ogren remarked that a lot of the insurance companies have told their consumers that they will not start remediation or restoration work until the debris is cleared. She also noted that the insurers claimed that they are waiting for the municipality and the Chief Medical Officer’s approval before doing anything.
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