The chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, whose residents remain in hotels following a power outage and frozen pipes, says more members of the military and tradespeople are on their way to help.
Chief David Monias told reporters that he was expecting up to about 130 people to come to the community in the coming days.
The announcement Monday came as seven members of the Canadian Armed Forces arrived that morning to help.
“Just about every house will probably need a repair in one form or another; it may be from minor repairs to major repairs,” Monias told reporters, adding the damage to homes vary including one that has a full “crack” through it.
As part of the military’s arrival on Monday, Monias said the members had met with the nation’s local team to take a tour and conduct an assessment of the water plant.
Officials in the community are still trying to determine the extent of the damage to the more than 1,300 homes in Pimicikamak, nearly two weeks following the power outage that led to the failure of critical infrastructure.
At least 4,400 people have been evacuated, Monias said, with more than 1,200 currently housed in hotels in Thompson, Man., though many have travelled to other communities for housing.
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Determining the damage has been difficult because of resources, with eight plumbers trying to move from one end of the community to the other.
“They’re literally sleeping two hours a day,” Monias said.
He said more members of the military are expected to come on Wednesday, with engineering specialists among those set to arrive.
Some workers already in the community, however, are sick after losing access to clean water, Monias said, adding that it has been tough to find adequate washroom and shower facilities for the additional plumbers and other workers coming to help with water and electrical issues.
He said a mobile camp that can accommodate 30 people is being set up and the community has asked a company to erect a temporary water treatment plant, so living conditions for workers can improve and repairs aren’t delayed.
While work continues to be underway to determine what needs to be fixed in terms of infrastructure and the resources needed to fix it, Pimicikamak Coun. Shirley Robinson says the question remains when people will return home.
“Citizens are sharing with us their loneliness for home because they haven’t really settled into our nation for the past six months now where we were evacuated over and over again,” Robinson said. “They’re experiencing emotional and mental distress because it’s not healthy to be secluded in four walls in a hotel room, especially with families too.”
December’s outage is the second time in less than a year that residents had to leave the community, having been evacuated last spring due to wildfires.
“Our people, like right now, they’re traumatized from all of this,” she added.
Monias told reporters on Monday he’s also concerned about the residents living in hotels and how long they’ll be able to stay.
There remains no timeline for when residents will return home, though the chief said he’s hoping to get things fixed “in a matter of weeks, not months,” so that people will be home before the spring.
—with files from The Canadian Press and Global News’ Moosa Imran and Hersh Singh
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