By Mariam Ibrahim, Postmedia News

EDMONTON JOURNAL – EDMONTON — One-third of Slave Lake, Alta. has been lost to fire, the town’s mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee said Monday morning.

Speaking at a technical briefing via phone from the razed community, Pillay-Kinnee said the town’s southeast is most affected, where about half of the homes and buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

The town has also lost its city hall and library, but the hospital, school and RCMP detachment remain standing.

The mayor expressed shock and disbelief at the loss of infrastructure.

“It’s heartwrenching as people lose their homes, their livelihood. For myself, I’m just trying to remain focussed on the task at hand,” the mayor said. “It’s truly devastating. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s going to take a while to rebuild our community.”

Dana Woodworth, managing director of Alberta Emergency Management Agency, said there were no reports of any fatalities or injuries as of Monday morning. About 95 per cent of Slave Lake residents have been evacuated.

Fire suppression within the town remains the focus of firefighters.

Fire departments from Strathcona County, Edmonton and Calgary have contributed crews. There were 125 firefighters on the ground in Slave Lake Monday morning, with an additional 100 firefighters en route.

As of Monday morning, there are 115 wildfires burning across the province. Thirty-six of those fires are considered out of control, including fires near Fort McMurray and Loon Lake. The province has 900 firefighters, 20 air tankers and 100 helicopters fighting all fires across the province.

They expect 120 more firefighters to arrive Monday from B.C., with more expected from Ontario on Tuesday.

Edmonton Journal