UPDATE: As of last night, Sunday, April 28, there are now about 90 soldiers on the ground. Two more buses arrived.

BRACEBRIDGE — Canadian Army Reservists are now on the ground helping beleaguered residents impacted by floods.

“We had a fairly significant change yesterday where it was decided among our emergency control group that assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces were warranted and so we put that call out,” said Mayor Graydon Smith during a news conference Sunday, April 28. “We’re very pleased that we could get some help today.”

Thirty soldiers arrived around 11 a.m. with an an additional 30 moving into the area over the next few days, with possibly more if required.

They will be bunking down at the Bracebridge Memorial Arena and many began to work right away at the Fowler Construction scale house on Rosewarne Drive joining a large number of community volunteers preparing sand bags. As of Sunday morning, 27,000 sand bags had already been deployed and large numbers are still making their way to residents who need them.

“We have some heavy vehicles, 10-ton trucks, coming in to help out and possibly some boats, if necessary,” said Lt. Col. Graham Walsh, while soldiers worked diligently filling, tying and loading the bags onto pallets or into trucks.

As they headed through the downtown core they could already see some of the impact of the high and fast moving waters devastating members of the Bracebridge community.

“We have certainly have seen it,” he said. “We want to go out this afternoon and check it out further and we want to get these soldiers helping out in the area as soon as possible.”

During the news conference, Walsh told media, they hope to help with the delivery of many of the sand bags and as well as provide assistance on local roads that are currently impassable and helping area residents.

“I know we’re all delighted to be here and happy to be providing the assistance that we can,” he said. “We have a great group of men and women from the Toronto area volunteering their time and interrupting their civilian lives to come up here and provide their assistance, but we’re happy to do so.”