The high cost of hosting wildfire evacuees

For the past six summers, High Level, Alta., a northern town of 4,000 that straddles the only road into the province from the Northwest Territories, has converted its arena into a makeshift wildfire evacuation centre.

Municipal staff have been diverted from regular duties such as working at the pool or running summer programs to haul up to 350 cots, purchased by the town to accommodate evacuees, from a storage container into the arena. They have sometimes worked up to 17 hours a day to make sure everyone was fed and children were entertained.