Fire on Our Doorstep

By Mrs. Canadian Renegade

By mid morning one more rooster had made his way into my sink. I'd heard stories from both my mom and mother-in-law about the dreaded task of pulling pin feathers. Now, here I was staring at that same chore. I squeezed, and poked, and pinched, and pulled until he was finally clean. Though, I must admit he arrived in pretty great shape to begin with. Once he was ready, I dropped him in a pot only to discover he was too big for my biggest pot! (read more about the chicken in upcoming posts) I called a neighbour down the road to borrow a pot and decided to swing by a friends to drop off a gift on the way.

As I headed home, I couldn't help but noticed a large cloud of smoke rising from behind the trees. I pulled to the side and took some photos to show Matt later. I couldn't help but wonder whether this was a controlled burn or something more.

The first sign of the fire on my drive home.

Even though the drive was short, I pulled over two more times, something was amiss. The smoke rose higher, and wider. Through the thick, white billows, a black cloud emerged. The kids could sense my concern as they yelled from the back of the van. My body froze. Not long ago, a fire ban had been announced. The rain clouds weren't letting go of more than a light sprinkle. Our area was so dry the trees and grass had yet to fully emerge from their winter slumber.

I climbed back into the drivers seat unable to pull my eyes away from the tree line. Flames burst from the tall grass to engulf a cluster of trees. Just as quickly as it emerged it disappeared. I had to call Matt to access the situation. Sirens began to wail and emergency vehicles sped past us down the road. This was serious. The wind was currently in our favour but we knew we had to be on alert and prepared to leave should the direction change.

After a brief chat with a neighbour, who had also drove out to access the situation, we headed home. We could barely peel ourselves away from the living room window that evening as the dense smoke filled the sky.

A large plane flies over the house before dropping fire retardant on the wildfire.

Once the kids went to bed, Matt headed out to take care of the chickens and it wasn't long until he hurried in to tell me to come outside. Planes and helicopters had been brought in to help battle the fire but two much larger planes had arrived. They circled above our homestead before flying over the fire to drop fire retardant. Our phones buzzed with alerts classifying the event as a wildfire and our area was on evacuation alert. That night, we set an alarm to check on the glowing sky in the event we needed to pack up and leave.

A second large plane flies over the property before dropping another load of fire retardant on the wildfire.

The following morning, the smoke wasn't as thick. We received word that the winds continued to blow away from us and the fire had moved along with it. the area just north of us was being evacuated. We were quite literally on the border of the evacuation site. There was a steady stream of humming planes and beating helicopters filling the skies. At one point, a helicopter came by to grab water from our creek. I packed a small suitcase in the event we needed to leave on short notice. My mind couldn't help but inventory the most irreplaceable items too.

Left: A helicopter retrieves water from our creek Right: A photo of the flames from our neighbour on the first day.

Two days after the fire began, the evacuation order was lifted and residence were able to return home with the understanding that they could be asked to leave again at a moments notice. At the time, no residences had been lost, however, I have received word that one home has since been lost. Five days later, the fire was still burning at 2220 hectares and remained classified as out of control but had reached 65% containment. The fire was being fueled by steady winds and peat bogs. The community pulled together quickly, gathering supplies for neighbours in need during the evacuation.

The smoky horizon the evening of the fifth day since the fire began.

More than 60 firefighters have been battling the fire from 6 different counties and municipalities, in addition to Alberta Forestry, and private contractors.

UPDATE: One week later the fire is now considered 75% contained. A special air quality statement remains in effect with smoke spreading through the area, more so overnight and during the morning hours. A state of local emergency also remains in effect.

---