EDMONTON – As wildfire continues to ravage Slave Lake, Telus announced plans to help the displaced residents and emergency services.
The telco said Tuesday that it is donating $25,000 to the Red Cross in support of relief efforts in the area, and has launched a text-to-donate initiative whereby customers can text "REDCROSS" to 30333 to donate $5 to The Canadian Red Cross Society’s efforts. Telus is also offering free wireless long distance calling to all residents in the community for at least the next week, plus is shipping 1,500 kits packed with toiletries to the Red Cross for distribution at evacuation centres in nearby communities, and 1,000 long distance and prepaid wireless calling cards so that residents can keep in touch with family and friends.
"This is personal for Telus. Thousands of our customers and even some of our team members have lost their homes overnight, and we want to do everything we can to support them at this challenging time," said Glen Lovas, Telus director for the region. "Our thoughts are with our own team members who have lost everything, and with all of the residents of Slave Lake and the surrounding area."
Telus said that as of late Monday, its landline and wireless networks in and around the community continued to operate, though a link to a smaller community nearby has gone out of service due to a power outage and service to some homes has been lost due to burned lines. Landline service and several wireless sites are running on backup power generators as electrical power has been lost, and Telus technicians are on site in Slave Lake and making every effort to repair damage and to maintain service on a continuing basis.
