A Kamloops Councillor who lives in Brocklehurst says its been a tough few months for that part of the city.
Speaking on the NL Morning News, Bill Sarai says the Snowbirds crash on Sunday is just another incident that has shaken the city, and the neighbourhood to its core.
“We had a fire at Parkcrest Elementary, and we stood up and dusted ourselves off, and made great strides and then COVID came along and we were just starting to come out of that, and now this weekend, tragically, this happened,” Sarai said.
“And I’m very proud of our city’s resilience. We’re strong and we’re going to get through this together.”
He notes that there are arrangements being made with crisis counsellors for the people who are struggling to cope with the trauma surrounding the plane crash.
“I made it out there to the memorial, and I wasn’t the same, and I’m still seeing vivid pictures in my mind,” Sarai added.
“I can just imagine what the neighbours who were watching these two planes leave, and how its affecting them, or the children or even now with all the stuff that’s going around. We are reaching out and assisting them in any way we can.”
While dealing with their own trauma, several neighbours in the area of the crash site have been cooking dinner and offering refreshments to members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are investigating the crash.
“They’ve made us feel like we’re their neighbors in these really tragic circumstances. And the love and the care they’ve been giving has been an enormous help as well. It gives us energy, really,” public affairs officer, Lt. Alexandra Hejduk told NL News.
Sarai also says he was amazed at how professionally Kamloops emergency crews were in responding to the crash on Sunday.
“Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the same thing,” he noted. “You have to imagine what those firefighters went through, its something they’ve never had to deal with. I’ve reached out to their union head and said, ‘look, you know, I just wanted to make sure that they are getting the help they needed, and they are.
“We got to make sure they are healthy as well.”