The City of Calgary plans to lift its state of local emergency Thursday morning but, for many people, the cleanup and recovery is far from over, the mayor said.

“There are a lot of our neighbours and friends who have been absolutely devastated by this,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi in Wednesday’s afternoon update from the Emergency Operations Centre. “Their personal recovery will be long and difficult.”

For between 550 and 900 Calgarians, just getting back into a permanent residence could take 12-18 months. About 1,200 more are likely to be displaced for up to six months, said Calgary Emergency Management Agency director Bruce Burrell.

The city is currently working with the provincial government to establish three temporary neighbourhoods similar to the one being set up for High River evacuees in southeast Calgary.

Each neighbourhood will have room for 300 residents, and trailers will likely be used for housing, Burrell said.

“The province will actually be constructing the neighbourhoods,” he said. “We’ll just be providing the sites.”

As residents continue to clean up their homes and assess damage, more than two dozen homeowners are facing the prospect that their homes might not be able to be saved, Nenshi said.

One Calgary home has been demolished and 25 more could face a similar fate, as building assessments continue in the aftermath of the flood.

These houses had been marked as “black” — meaning they are uninhabitable, unsafe, and require assessment by a structural engineer to determine whether or not they will be safe for habitation.

“We’re all attached to our homes,” Nenshi said. “It’s not about the bricks and mortar, it’s about where we live, where we raise our families, the place that we’re rooted.”

The Bowness home that was demolished yesterday had a four- to six-metre deep sinkhole underneath it, and about a third of its brick foundation was missing.

Other homes designated as black are being fenced in or shored up to allow first responders or residents to go in and retrieve belongings. Demolition is a last resort, Burrell said.

Nenshi had some strong words for Calgary condo boards, urging them to request building inspections as soon as possible. The city has not heard from 49 multi-family dwellings that have been deemed as unfit for re-entry. As of Wednesday afternoon, it began conducting the inspections in those buildings anyway.

“We’re just going in,” Nenshi said.

Building, electrical, plumbing and gas inspectors are going through the buildings to start the remediation process and, where needed, structural engineers are also inspecting buildings.

“When you chose to serve on the condo board, you took on a responsibility to ensure the safety of your building,” Nenshi said, adding that some property managers have not been dealing with their buildings in a timely manner. “If you’re a condo board member, do not wait for your property manager. Call the city yourself, initiate the inspection yourself.”

Alberta’s chief mental health officer Dr. Michael Trew was also on hand at the briefing, and urged flood victims to seek support as they cope with the aftermath.