‘It's a lot': Pukatawagan evacuee describes experience as evacuation nears 3 months

Global News

a day ago

Jumpsey Mercer has been out of her home in Pukatawagan for nearly three months.
She keeps busy working with the community's emergency management organization, driving evacuees to and from appointments, or to pick up groceries and other essential supplies. But being displaced for so long has been overwhelming.
'You pack a bag for a three-days stay, and you're here three months,' says Mercer. 'That's very…it's a lot.'
Mercer has lived in Pukatawagan, also known as Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, for 30 years. The community was evacuated due to an approaching wildfire at the end of May. That fire is now contained in the areas closest to the nation, but the community's emergency management coordinator tells Global News extensive damage to Hydro lines has delayed their return.
Mercer and her six-year-old son have been living out of small hotel rooms since the evacuation. They are being supported financially by the Red Cross and MKO, but feeling disconnected from their community is taking an emotional toll.
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'My boy has broken down, cried it out. Cried and cried,' says Mercer. 'He wants to go home, he wants to be with his toys, he wants to be in his own bed, he wants to watch his own TV, he wants to be in his own house.'
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They're currently staying at the Victoria Inn near the Winnipeg airport, so she can't simply let him go play outside like she would back home. She's been trying to distract him by taking him to parks, pools, and the movies.
Mercer herself spends time praying and smudging, working hard to look after her mental health.
'I had to take a break and get myself together, because if I don't do it, nobody's gonna do it for me. As an essential worker to the people and for myself and my child, my family, I have to be there,' says Mercer.
Emergency management officials will have more information later on this week on the timeline for Hydro repairs, and when residents may be allowed back into the community. In the meantime, Mercer will try to lean on friends, family and neighbours from back home, some of whom have been evacuated as far away as Niagara Falls.
'It's not only [my family] going through this, it's all of us,' she says.