A month after wildfires tore through the Northshore region of St. John's, Newfoundland, emotions are still raw. In front of rubble that was once her family's home, she hold back tears. "It's like a bomb went off." WATCH: Sep 25 NTV report- Communities damaged by wildfire host emotional town hall It's very heartbreaking. 0:04 Elsie Garland of Western Bay couldn't 0:06 hold back tears as she stood in front of 0:09 the rubble that was once her family's 0:11 home. 0:11 There's no words to describe it either. 0:13 It's just like a bomb went off. 0:16 A month after wildfires tore through the 0:18 Northshore region of the province, 0:20 emotions are still raw. 0:22 It's very hard to look at. It's I can't 0:24 even play words. I can't even like my 0:27 emotions are all over the place. My 0:28 heart's all over the place. Our heads 0:30 are all over the place. 0:31 That mix of emotion is shared by many 0:33 others in the region and was evident 0:35 Wednesday night at a town hall meeting 0:38 as more than a hundred residents of 0:40 unincorporated towns packed the Burnt 0:43 Point Lodge. Stella Johnson, who was 0:45 among those who lost their homes, helped 0:48 organize the meeting. She said it was an 0:50 opportunity for residents of Western 0:52 Bay, Ochre Pit Cove, Northern Bay, and 0:55 Kingston to tell their stories, voice 0:58 their concerns, and figure out a way 1:01 forward to somehow recover and rebuild 1:04 from such a devastating and lifealtering 1:07 event. 1:07 I have people say, "Oh, no, that's going 1:08 to grow back." But you don't grow back 1:10 schools. You don't grow back businesses. 1:11 You don't grow back houses. It's not 1:13 going to come back unless the government 1:15 helps us. With many talking through 1:17 tears, residents spoke about their worry 1:20 about housing as some have no insurance 1:23 and are renting with government funding. 1:25 With no municipal government and 1:27 communication challenges with provincial 1:29 government, they said they felt 1:31 forgotten. 1:31 We just want to get back in our house. 1:33 We just want to open our business. We 1:35 just want to be back and be part of the 1:37 community. 1:40 They also expressed concern about safety 1:43 and security and the need for debris 1:45 management. They also want an update on 1:48 future monies available to them from the 1:50 Red Cross, government, and fundraising. 1:52 Three provincial government candidates 1:54 spoke briefly, all promised they'd help 1:57 to bring about change. In the end, a 1:59 small committee with representatives 2:01 from each of the four towns was set up. 2:03 That group will meet with incorporated 2:05 town officials in the region to 2:07 collaborate with government. 2:09 Even though, you know, it's very sad now 2:11 when you drive down the Northshore, 2:13 there are people here who want to build 2:16 that better, but it's a process that 2:19 will take weeks, months, and years. The 2:22 town of Small Point to Adams Cove plans 2:25 to have its own town hall meeting in the 2:27 coming weeks. They say it's that support 2:29 from the region and the people of the 2:31 province that's keeping them going. They 2:34 hope their voices can be heard, change 2:36 can come about so they can get their 2:38 lives back in order. Rosie Malali, NTV 2:42 News.
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NTV Canada is headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada,
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