This release was issued under a previous government.

Homes have been colour-coded as follows:

  • Green: habitable
  • Yellow: minor impact, requires clean up, possible repairs, remains habitable
  • Orange: damaged, requires extensive repairs or renovations, not immediately habitable, residents enter at their own risk
  • Red: severely damaged, uninhabitable, dangerous, residents enter at their own risk
Of the 1817 structures, primarily houses, in Sector 1:
  • 639 are classified as ‘green’
  • 318 are classified as ‘yellow’
  • 719 are classified as ‘orange’
  • 141 are classified as ‘red’
Prior to entering their neighbourhoods, residents were greeted at the Welcome Centre by Rick Fraser, the Associate Minister of Regional Recovery and Reconstruction, and High River Mayor Emile Blokland.

“This is an important milestone for the residents of High River and marks a significant step towards the recovery and the long-term restoration of High River,” said Fraser. “We are doing everything we can to get the people of High River back to their homes safely and to their community. Thank you to all residents for their patience and cooperation.”Residents in other parts of town will return as those sectors are declared safe.

Of the more than 500 businesses needing inspections, approximately 130 have been complete. Business owners will be able to see their businesses when the Sector has been open for re-entry.

“I realize that there are still many others who are anxiously waiting to get back into their homes, however I must stress the town is still under a state of provincial emergency and the phased-in approach allows us to ensure that the appropriate level of support is ready and available for the safe return of residents to their community,” said Blokland.

Returning residents will receive an extensive information package containing a damage classification of their home or business, mental health and other social assistance available, key phone numbers and advice for cleaning residential property.

Throughout the staged re-entry and beyond, the Welcome Centre will support returning residents as a ‘one stop shop’ to provide information and resources, including social services (such as post-traumatic stress counseling) and administrative support, such as personal documentation. The Centre is located at the High River Agricultural Society Rodeo Grounds, at 64137 Secondary Highway 543 (corner of Highway 2A and Secondary Highway 543).

Bus tours continue for residents to see the condition of their community. Approximately 200 people participated in the tours yesterday. Tours continued today at 9 a.m. leaving from the High River Regional Airport and will run all day.

A boil water advisory remains in effect for the Town of High River. Bring your water to a rolling boil for at least one minute prior to using it for domestic purposes, including drinking, making infant formula and juices, brushing teeth, washing raw foods and making ice. Alternatively, residents may choose to use bottled water. Water used for bathing, or for laundering of clothing, does not need to be boiled.

The provincial state of emergency order remains in place. This is to ensure a safe and orderly transition from emergency to recovery phases. RCMP will continue to operate roadblocks where necessary.

High River residents who have questions can call 310-4455 for updated information. For more information, please visit http://alberta.ca/High-River.cfm.

Our government was elected to keep building Alberta, to live within its means and to fight to open new markets for Alberta’s resources. We will continue to deliver the responsible change Albertans voted for.

Media inquiries may be directed to:
Provincial Operations Centre
Communications
Government of Alberta
780-644-4862

To call toll free within Alberta dial 310-0000.