This week, residents of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada continue to return to their homes following the wildfires that devastated the community last month. So far, the fire has destroyed more than 2,400 homes and buildings, and sparked the biggest wildfire evacuation in Albertan history. The wildfire continues to spread north and east into Saskatchewan, but it is now safe for many residents to begin to recover from this disaster.
While the road to recovery will be long, Airlink partner Team Rubicon will be there to help, thanks to donated flights for disaster responders from Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, and United Airlines.
Together with these partner airlines, Airlink has now sent 19 international disaster relief volunteers to Ft. McMurray for Operation: Pay Dirt. This international team, comprised of skilled volunteers from Team Rubicon USA and Team Rubicon Canada, will work to provide incident, volunteer, and debris management in support of residents as they return home.
“Our partnerships with Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, and United Airlines allowed Airlink to coordinate Team Rubicon’s efforts from the moment that residents of Fort McMurray were allowed to return to their homes,” said Steve Smith, Executive Director of Airlink. “This collaboration exemplifies Airlink’s key objective: to help airlines join together to provide relief for those in need following major disasters.”
Team Rubicon volunteers working on Operation: Pay Dirt will remain in Ft. McMurray until late June to assist with recovery efforts as residents continue to return home.