Alberta Municipal Affairs has agreed to look into requests coming from Red Deer County residents asking for disaster recovery assistance.Last month, the Alberta government allocated $450,000 for two disaster recovery programs available for Red Deer County, County of Vermilion River and the Municipal District of Wainwright to cover cleanup and emergency operation costs following windstorms in July.The program, only for municipalities, meant resident Monica Kaban and her husband Mike Burlein couldn't collect assistance for broken trees and fences following a severe windstorm July 7.ìIt's great, it's a step forward anyway,î said Kaban, who was told by her insurance company that her trees and fences wouldn't be covered because they weren't considered farm assets.And the recent announcement from the province said residents wouldn't be able to apply for assistance because wind damage is typically covered by insurance.Kaban was covered for resulting damage to her home, riding arena and Quonset.ìI'm hoping the government will help at least with cleaning up,î she said of the broken trees and fences still needing to be cleared.Seven cross fences that surround her property were destroyed and four groves were broken and badly damaged but aren't covered by insurance. Red Deer County crews replaced one fence line that ran along the range road.ìIt'll become a fire hazard,î she said, concerned she'll have to pay out of pocket to clean up the damage.Ric Henderson, assistant Red Deer County manager, said the county requested Alberta Emergency Management Agency to review their program that allows for disaster assistance.ìJust (based on) information we've collected in the first place, people are saying some of the damage was uninsurable. So we took it back to them and said please take a look at this, this is what people are telling us.îKaban was one of the residents. Last week she contacted the Insurance Bureau of Canada to confirm she was not eligible for coverage for her trees and cross fences and had the county forward the confirmation to Municipal Affairs, she said.John Muir, communications rep with Alberta Municipal Affairs, said it's hard to say when the program will start, if approved.ìThey have to do an environmental assessment and take a look at a couple of factors to ensure it meets program criteria: things like how widespread, (whether it was) extraordinary, the speed of wind ñ that sort of thing.îThen a recommendation would be brought forward for consideration to a disaster recovery committee before going through the minister for final approval.ìIt won't be an answer for tomorrow. There needs to be some homework on it to see how widespread it is and how many people are affected,î he said.Kaban hopes it won't be too long. She'd like to repair the collapsed roof before winter. She said it's been a slow process cleaning up debris such as siding and insulation that was ripped off her house the evening of July 7. Two roofs, including the one on her riding arena, collapsed and most of the outbuildings on her acreage were either destroyed or badly damaged.ìThe community, neighbours, friends and businesses have helped out with the ordeal,î said Kaban.
