Fox Lake had a housing shortage, now 100 structures have been destroyed by fire: officials

Officials say more than 100 structures have been destroyed by fire in the remote Alberta community of Fox Lake.

The community is one of three that make up the Little Red River Cree Nation, approximately 850 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Fox Lake residents were told to evacuate last Wednesday.

They are now spread out in communities across northern Alberta, including High Prairie, Fort Vermilion, Paddle Prairie, and John D'Or Prairie, another community in Little Red River Cree Nation.

While officials don't know when residents will be able to return to Fox Lake, a push is on to bring them closer to home.

A camp that can house 500 people is under construction in John D'Or Prairie in partnership with Indigenous Services Canada.

"We're on day 10 of this right now, so some of the members of course want to come home and be close to their families. And that’s one of the reasons we’re setting up the camp here in John D'Or Prairie," Darryel Sowan, the community's emergency management communications coordinator told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

"It's amazing the way we can come together and work that hard and get this done."

Because Fox Lake is so remote, Sowan says it's the first time some of the residents have been away from home.

"Probably the only isolated community like that in all of Alberta First Nations. Some of these people have never left Fox Lake, so it's a bit of a culture shock, and they want to go home."

"We're doing our best to make them as comfortable as we can."

A second camp is also planned for the area.

Little Red River Cree Nation has a population of about 6,700, and Fox Lake is its largest community with 3,700 residents.

Little Red River Cree Nation

Officials say housing was already at a premium in Fox Lake before the fire.

"Fox Lake to begin with, like many First Nations, had a dire need for housing. So if we lost a significant number of those homes, they're going to need more housing," Sowan said.

"A lot of these families took it upon themselves to build these little tiny homes, like cabin homes, for their children. So it’s kind of like a little community complex," said Little Red River Cree Nation Chief Conroy Sewepagaham.

"So you see one house that’s been burned down, and then you see four or five mini structures. Some people thought those were sheds, no, those were actually homes for their children."

Sewepagaham says Fox Lake is an ice road community in winter, and is only accessible by a barge that holds two vehicles in the summer, which will complicate rebuilding.

"Most of our home building in the last couple of years has been taking place in the winter time, because that’s when supplies are able to be crossed over."

There are other infrastructure concerns in the community too.

Highway 58, which leads to the community, has suffered wear and tear with fire crews accessing the community.

"Highway 58 when they come into that community of Fox Lake is a gravel road for 130-plus kilometres. It was very dusty that day. If you know that road, that road is always dusty," said Sowan.

"It's designated a highway, but it’s really a gravel road. And especially since this has gone on the last few days, that road has been beat up pretty good."

Sowan said the province had committed to a staged approach to paving the highway, but he's hoping to see that plan accelerated as a result of the fire.

"Let’s use this event to truly begin reconciliation. Let’s turn a negative into a positive," he said.

It's a sentiment shared by Sewepagaham.

"I am not looking to rebuild Fox Lake the way it was, but the way it should be."

"This means no more overcrowding. Appropriate infrastructure leading into our nation of 6,700. Infrastructure and homes that reflect the growing population of 3,700 people that call Fox Lake home."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb