Christian Disaster Relief Organization
Setting Up Evacuation Centre to Help Affected Families
CALGARY,
AB, July 24, 2024 /CNW/ - Samaritan's Purse is
helping residents forced to flee from multiple wildfires in
Alberta's Jasper National Park and the British Columbia interior.
At the request of B.C. Emergency Management and Climate
Readiness, the Christian disaster relief organization has sent a
team of specialists to British
Columbia, where they are setting up and operating a 100-bed
evacuation facility in the Kamloops area.
Ten thousand residents and seasonal workers have been evacuated
from Jasper National Park, along
with an estimated 15,000 visitors. Highway 16, which connects
Jasper to the rest of Alberta and
B.C., has been closed, with only escorted access. Additionally,
severe wildfires are threatening populations in
northern Alberta and the British
Columbia interior.
"Our hearts are breaking for residents fleeing these fires,"
said Keith Waara, acting director of
Canadian disaster relief for Samaritan's Purse. "We are thankful to
be able to help as many people as possible through this evacuation
facility."
In recent years, Samaritan's Purse has helped families affected
by a wide variety of Canadian and international natural disasters
including 2023 wildfires in British
Columbia, Hurricane Fiona in Prince Edward Island in 2022, 2018 flooding in
Grand Forks B.C. and St. John, N.B., 2017 flooding in Vernon, B.C., and the catastrophic 2016
Fort McMurray, Alberta,
wildfire.
Donations Needed
To support Samaritan's Purse's disaster relief efforts, please
visit SamaritansPurse.ca (click on "Donate") or call
1-800-663-6500.
About Samaritan's Purse Canada
Samaritan's Purse is a Christian relief and development
organization that takes its name from Jesus
Christ's biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like that
Good Samaritan, who found a beaten man and helped restore him, we
aid victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and
persecution. Besides disaster relief, our work includes collecting
and distributing gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes,
providing safe water, teaching vocational skills, and providing
agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing
world. Learn more at SamaritansPurse.ca.
SOURCE Samaritan's Purse Canada