Fort McMurray launches hotline for returning businesses
The Business Recovery Hotline will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the first two weeks
A 24-hour hotline has been launched in Fort McMurray to help returning businesses get back on their feet.
The Business Recovery Hotline will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the first two weeks after evacuees begin to trickle back into the city starting June 1.
It'll offer business owners access to information and assist them with getting the resources needed to have their businesses open and operational in the coming days and weeks.
The number is 855-RMWB-BIZ or 855-769-2249.
"Our business owners are highly resilient, but we want to ensure that they access to the necessary tools and resources to help them as we move forward," said Melissa Blake, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, in a news release.
Business owners will also be able to complete a survey over the hotline that will help distinguish the community's short and long-term needs.
The hotline was established by the RMWB, Canadian Red Cross and Economic Developers Alberta.
Some businesses have already returned
The city has already granted return to owners of some businesses, such as grocery stores, pharmacies and banks. But Blake said these services will still be extremely limited.
"We're not going to have everybody operating, but we're going to have a few that will be there to cover those basic needs," she told CBC on Monday.
- Condemned Fort McMurray properties could remain uninhabitable until September
- ATCO ramps up Fort McMurray crews to restore gas for returning residents
Businesses eager to come back to Fort McMurray are putting pressure on the city's re-entry timelines, she said.
Blake said she understands that the longer a business is out of the community, the more difficult it is for them.
With a planned re-entry set to start June 1, much of the city's electricity and gas service has been restored. But Blake said air quality remains unpredictable, and it may be well into June before a boil-water advisory for drinking water can be lifted.