This past week weSA国际影视传媒檝e all heard the heartbreaking news of the fire on the Hay River Reserve. Many of us have seen the terrible pictures and videos of the fire.

To make matters worse, just last year the KSA国际影视传媒檃tlSA国际影视传媒檕deeche First Nation (KFN) had the worst flood that people can remember. Some people had stayed at the Wellness Center for many months while waiting for their homes to be repaired.

People were still reeling from that tragedy, and now they have to deal with a fire that not only forced them out of their homes, it has burned down the Dene Cultural Institute (DCI), the school, the Band Office, the seniors complex and many homes.

Losing the DCI building is hard to take, but at least all of the material was removed before the building burned. The KFN website shows many boxes of materials that were removed.

Should KFN lose the Wellness Center, it may end up being the biggest loss on the reserve. The GNWT still owns the building, and the GNWT does not insure its buildings.

This means the Wellness Center might not be rebuilt if it is destroyed. Not cool.

Say what? YouSA国际影视传媒檙e thinking why wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 our government insure its buildings? ItSA国际影视传媒檚 because the GNWT has so much infrastructure across the territory that itSA国际影视传媒檚 cheaper to rebuild things that are lost to fire than it is to get insurance on everything.

Wow, itSA国际影视传媒檚 going to take the KSA国际影视传媒檃tlSA国际影视传媒檕deeche First Nation a long time to recover from this. TheySA国际影视传媒檒l need a lot of assistance from the territorial and federal governments. ISA国际影视传媒檓 sure theySA国际影视传媒檒l want to assist KFN as much as possible and will avoid getting into jurisdictional arguments. Eschia, take it easy eh!

ItSA国际影视传媒檚 hard to imagine being uprooted from your home, going to Yellowknife, and sleeping on a cot in the Multiplex with hundreds of other people. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 no privacy and little information on whatSA国际影视传媒檚 happening back home.

Some people were wondering if their home and/or pets survived. In fact, the KFN website said dogs were picked up on the road by workers and some were seen swimming across the river to Hay River. It didnSA国际影视传媒檛 say if all of them made it, although some did.

As of Wednesday, around 120 people were fighting the fire, including using helicopters and air tankers to drop water on the out-of-control fire. It must have been very disheartening to hear that wind conditions had made it so dangerous that all the people working to save their community were pulled back at various times.

The fire was incredible!

Rather than going to Yellowknife and staying at the Multiplex, former KFN Chief Roy Fabian went to Meander River. He said he wanted to stay with family so he could have more privacy and cooked meals, instead of sleeping on a cot with hundreds of other people and eating out all the time.

Roy said it will take a long time to rebuild everything that was lost, and they still donSA国际影视传媒檛 know the true extent of the loss. He said, SA国际影视传媒渢he fire was incredible. It seems to pick and choose which units to burn downSA国际影视传媒�.

In one location, several units burned in a row, then it jumped a few and burned another one. Then it did it again. One manSA国际影视传媒檚 garage burned down but his house survived - and it was only 50 feet away.

SA国际影视传媒淲e were watching the fire from the Hay River side and the flames were shooting up to 150 feet in the air,SA国际影视传媒� Roy said. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 hard to imagine anything still standing. At one point I even heard my house burned down, but now I know itSA国际影视传媒檚 okay.SA国际影视传媒�

And thatSA国际影视传媒檚 one of the most difficult things. People still donSA国际影视传媒檛 know if the wind will change and send the fire back to their community and possibly burn the rest of it down. And with all of the rumours out there, itSA国际影视传媒檚 difficult to know what to believe and what not to believe.

What they do know is the KFN leadership will have a difficult time for the next several years. Of course, the difficulty begins with rebuilding and replacing things, including peopleSA国际影视传媒檚 homes and belongings.

And it will also include dealing with the mental problems resulting from their people surviving a terrible tragedy two years in a row.

I have worked with the KFN leadership and I know they are up for the task of building a healthier and stronger community. KFN STRONG!