Thousands of people affected by an underground fire that shut down power to part of the downtown core on Saturday will be in the dark for the fourth night and some are looking for a place to stay until services are restored.
A fire in a manhole at 8 Avenue and 5 Street SW knocked out power to about 5000 residents and 112 residential and commercial businesses on Saturday night.
Since then, some people have decided to stay put and others have packed up and are staying with friends and relatives.
“We chose to leave. There’s minimal water pressure, there’s no power for cooking or anything like that. It’s safer to leave, the elevators are turned off,” said Jeremy Ramage.
“Deductible is $1000 so we’re not going to get any money from being out of the house for a week so we’re just going to go and try and stay in the dark,’ said Beth Haldane.
“We used to live on the 25th and we moved down to the 10th, lucky for us,” said Duncan Haldane.
Faraz Cheema and his friends live in an apartment in the affected area and say they are making the best of it.
“Playing cards, playing poker, candlelight dinners and just going out and hanging out and coming back to sleep,” said Cheema. “We are trying to make the best of it.”
Hotels in the downtown area are filling up and those without family in the city are having a few difficulties finding accommodation so the city is providing assistance at Mewata Armoury.
“Our first priority is making sure that everyone has a safe place to stay and everyone has the support that they need to be able to get a shower and be able to go to work and be able to function,” said Sue Henry, Assistant Deputy Chief, Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) “We are encouraging residents who have been displaced from their homes to try first to find accommodation with their friends or family. If they’re not able to do that, to talk to their insurance company. If they’re not able to do that, we’re encouraging them to come to the Mewata Information Centre where we’ll be able to help find accommodation for the evening.”
The city set aside about 250 hotel rooms to house those residents and has set up an emergency shelter at the Big Four Building at Stampede Park just in case it needs it.
“Group lodging such as this, at the Big Four, provides us with a large space where we can fit a number of people. We can provide them with washroom facilities, we can provide them with food, we can provide them with that safe temporary housing that they will need,” said Henry.
The city has not had to open the facility yet but says it is ready to go if it is needed.
“We’ve got about 200 beds,” said Henry. “The Stampede Board has stepped up to assist us. They’ve got a restaurant that’s on site and should we need to open the centre, they will be providing breakfast, lunch and dinner out of the centre.”
The city says it has an additional 200 cots set aside if it needs them but that so far everyone who has registered has had a place to stay.
The city has posted Information for Downtown Residents on its website HERE.
For a map of community resources, click HERE or scroll the document below.
