Karrie Kanzig and her daughter Cassidy at a shelter in Athabasca.
As part of the Public Affairs department at the Red Cross, staff members often get a chance to speak to the people we are helping on the ground. In the aftermath of the Slave Lake fires, Public Affairs Coordinator Leila Daoud visited a shelter in Athabasca, where she met Karrie Kanzig and her daughter Cassidy. Their escape to Athabasca involved frantic packing followed by a split second decision to abandon one of their vehicles in a Slave Lake parking lot––too low on gas to make the journey. That car was packed full of their belongings from home. For now, the family is living in a friend’s camper trailer and visiting the Athabasca shelter to gain access to some basic services. But the family has hope.
“Just because our town has burned down it doesn’t mean our community is gone. I’ve lived in a lot of places and there’s no community like Slave Lake. A lot of these families have grown up together. No matter what happens, nothing is going to tear that apart," Karrie Kanzig said.
“I know Slave Lake will come back bigger and better.”
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