The Canadian Red Cross placed personnel across Alberta on standby Tuesday evening to respond to the wind-driven wildfire devastating Fort McMurray.
It said 200 trained volunteers are able to deploy immediately and that it is asking Canadians who want to donate to do so online.
The Red Cross has set up a family reunification number for Fort McMurray evacuees: 1-888-350-6070.
“We have trained staff and volunteers that are ready to be deployed to support evacuees, and we have emergency resources that we can move — cots, blankets, personal-hygiene kits,” said Jenn McManus, the vice-president of the Canadian Red Cross in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
“In-kind donations are very complex and very logistically challenging to operationalize, so, at this point, financial support is the best way to support from Calgary.”