Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has pledged his province will fund an initial amount of $50 million for the immediate needs of residents of Slave Lake and the rebuilding of their community.

"The unprecedented wildfire disaster in Slave Lake and the surrounding area has touched all Albertans," said Stelmach. "This funding is an important first step on the road to rebuilding the community."

The money will be initially focused on housing and income support for the 7,000 Slave Lake residents who were forced to flee their homes on Sunday due to an incredibly swift wildfire.

Government officials are making their way through evacuation centres, trying to figure out exactly what is needed from the residents.

"The funding will begin flowing by week's end," Stelmach said. "As individual residents will have specific needs and requirements, it is important that we have an accurate list of evacuees."

He said it is crucial that residents who have left their homes in Slave Lake and surrounding communities register with the Red Cross at 1-800-565-4483.

Residents could face a two-week wait before they can permanently return home, as insurance adjusters being to survey the damage in the northern Alberta town left charred by a forest fire.

Slave Lake Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee is promising evacuees that they will get twice-a-day updates on the rebuilding process -- and that members of the town council will visit evacuation centres in Athabasca, Westlock and Edmonton. But she warns that it may be two weeks before people can return to their homes.

Meanwhile, local RCMP say it's still far too dangerous to let anyone back into town because the smoke is too heavy. There is also some concern about chemicals in the air. What's more, the town remains without stable power, water or other utilities.

CTV's Sarah Galashan says that's leaving many residents frustrated.

"Many people don't even know what they're going back to. They don't even know whether their homes have burned down, and they probably won't know for a couple of days," Galashan told CTV's Canada AM from an evacuation centre in Athabaska, Alta.

Galashan says she spoke to firefighters from Edmonton who had just returned from fighting the Slave Lake fire. "They were telling us that parts of the town look like war zones," she said.

Doug and Sharon Horner, who barely made it out of Slave Lake in time, were able to watch footage filmed by CTV News cameras that showed that their house was one of many that burned to the ground.

"It was shocking to us, especially to have your crew on the corner of our street like that. It was a fluke," Sharon told Canada AM Wednesday morning. "And for us to see that… we hadn't seen anything and that was the first. Our whole street has been wiped out."

"What happens now, I haven't got a clue."

Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee says town officials are trying to set up a system where residents can find out which properties are damaged or destroyed. She hopes that can be done within a day or two.

"It is a priority. I understand the frustration of residents," Pillay-Kinnee said Tuesday.

RCMP Sgt. Brian Scott says it's possible that people may be allowed back into their neighbourhoods for a quick assessment by this weekend. But Galashan says that plan is far from firm.

"That's all talk right now. There's really no certainty as to when they'll be allowed to go back in," she said.

Sharon Horner told reporters Tuesday that residents heard no warning that the fire was at their doorstep. She says the reports from the radio were that Slave Lake was fine, was not under an evacuation order, nor on standby.

When neighbours told them it was time to run, Horner quickly rounded up the family and pets into their RV and took off. As they drove, flaming roof shingles rained down on their truck, she told The Globe and Mail. She's now angry that officials got it so wrong.

"They said we were fine. We were not fine. I had to knock on the neighbour's door and tell him to leave," she said.

Town officials have said they too were taken by surprise when the winds shifted suddenly, causing the fire to turn, jump over two highways and make a direct hit on the town.

Fires continue to burn, and wildfire spokesman Rob Harris says he doesn't know when they will be brought under control.

"It really depends on the weather," Harris, who works for Sustainable Resource Development, told the Canadian Press.

"If we get strong winds like we saw on the weekend, it's still a possibility (that the fire could re-enter the community)."

Firefighters from British Columbia and Ontario have been brought in to join the approximately 1,000 firefighters, 100 helicopters and 20 air tankers already battling blazes across the province.

Federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the government is ready to lend financial assistance.

"I think it's very important for individuals affected by flooding or fire that the province responds quickly and therefore, it's very important the government steps in and meets its obligations . . . in order to ensure the province has the money and they are not in a difficult financial situation," he said.

With files from CTV's Janet Dirks, Sarah Galashan, and The Canadian Press