Danielle Smith, leader of the Wildrose Party, says that it will take a long time for things to get back to normal in High River after extensive flooding evacuated the town.

Smith says that they are focusing on addressing citizen’s concerns and gathering volunteer support for cleaning up the community.

“Up to this point, there’s been a limited amount of contractors and volunteers that can come into the town. Now that we’ve got businesses set up, most of the streets clean, and the sewage system set up, we’re looking at gathering people.”

Smith says thousands of people are needed to help between 2,000 and 3,000 homes that will need their basements ripped out. “The more people we can get to do that, the sooner we can get things back to normal.”

She says that Mission Possible, a volunteer team that was working in the hard-hit flood zones in Calgary, has now shifted their focus to High River.

“If they can get the same support there, I think we can move forward very quickly to recover some of those homes and rebuild the town very quickly.”

Two volunteer staging areas have been created within the town to coordinate the volunteer effort and to supply support to the residents:

  • The Rodeo Grounds Welcome Centre (N.W. High River)
  • Sheppard Family Park (S.W. High River) – corner of 12 Ave. and 5 St. S.E.

“The phased entry process has allowed us to make great progress in ensuring the areas are safe and I am pleased to announce that volunteers are now able to enter and assist residents,” says Rick Fraser, Associate Minister of Regional Recovery and Reconstruction for High River. “This recovery effort is about more than buildings - it is about giving people hope and we welcome everyone who can help.”

Volunteers are asked to bring their own supplies including:

  • rubber boots
  • face masks
  • gloves
  • shovels
  • garbage bags
  • buckets

Those wishing to assist with High River’s cleanup effort are encouraged to carpool to ease traffic congestion within the town.

Smith also said on Wednesday morning that a lot of questions will need to be addressed over the flood response once the entire cleanup is over.

“There is a lot of learning to happen here,” she said. “There will be time for that conversation in the coming weeks and months.”

She hopes to get answers on numerous issues concerning the emergency warning, the evacuation order, communication throughout the process, and the decision to have firearms taken out of people’s homes.

The RCMP has announced that they will be beginning to return the firearms they seized from homes during the evacuation process.

They said they did so because the guns were left in plain view.

Residents will need government-issued photo identification to have their weapons returned.

So far, the area west of 13 St. S.E. has been opened by provincial officials and local authorities.

The pass system is no longer in place and the northwest, southwest, and central sections of the town are open to the public.

More than 6,000 people have returned so far with another one-quarter of the population expected to return later on Wednesday.

159 properties are deemed unsafe to occupy.