Angie Thorne heard about what would come to be known as the Elephant Hill wildfire long before most people did, on the evening of Thursday, July 6.
B次元官网网址淚 got a notification about the fire,B次元官网网址� says Angie, who went out on the front porch of her home on the Ashcroft Reserve. She could see nothing from there, and went out on her back deck, where she could see a glow to the south.
B次元官网网址淚 watched it for a bit, and got a text from [a member of the Ashcroft Volunteer Fire Department], asking what it looked like.B次元官网网址� She sent him a picture via messenger and asked what was happening. B次元官网网址淗e told me they were waiting for the Forestry and they should be here soon. BC Wildfire Service got there around midnight, and went in with three small vehicles, left, and returned with two larger ones.
B次元官网网址淎round 1:15 a.m. I said to my brother Mark B次元官网网址業 donB次元官网网址檛 see the glow anymore,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� says Angie. She continued to watch until about 2 a.m., then said to Mark, B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 go for a drive up by the sandpit across from my house and see. We didnB次元官网网址檛 see any indication that the fire was still moving, and I said to Mark B次元官网网址業 guess itB次元官网网址檚 safe to go to bed.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
On the morning of July 7 Angie and her brother Dempsey had plans to drive to Kamloops, but stopped at the Band Office on the way. B次元官网网址淲e didnB次元官网网址檛 see anything at first; then there was thick black smoke. I said B次元官网网址榃eB次元官网网址檇 better get our butts home; this doesnB次元官网网址檛 look good.B次元官网网址� It was moving fast, with lots of black smoke and flames.B次元官网网址�
Angie called her husband Randy, who was at work at the Basque Ranch, and rushed back to the house, where Angie lived with Randy, Dempsey, her daughter Kelsey, her granddaughter Nevaeh, and her son Andrew. B次元官网网址淲e stopped on the way to the house and saw Mark, and I asked if he got his family out. Everyone was in a panic.B次元官网网址�
When Angie arrived at her house, family and friends were there to help. Angie threw some clothes into her fifth-wheel vehicle with their help, then saw smoke on the other side of the knoll across the road from her house, and told everyone they had to get out.She drove to her fatherB次元官网网址檚 house on the reserve and found him trying to get up on the roof to water down the house. B次元官网网址淚 told him to get down. IB次元官网网址檒l never forget the look my dad had on his face. It was one of fear, and seeing me in fear he got down and proceeded into the house to gather up Ruth and Shawn.B次元官网网址�
Despite the smoke being so thick she didnB次元官网网址檛 think sheB次元官网网址檇 make it round the corner, Angie says there were already looky-loos driving through the reserve, taking pictures. She made it to the bridge in Ashcroft, where she and Crystal Daniels, one of the helpers, started to stop vehicles from going up towards the reserve. B次元官网网址淪ome people were like B次元官网网址榃e just want to take pictures.B次元官网网址� We were telling them itB次元官网网址檚 dangerous, and advised against it. But some didnB次元官网网址檛 listen, and still proceeded. The RCMP arrived and took over the task, and werenB次元官网网址檛 allowing anyone up that way.
B次元官网网址淥ne policeman asked if [the fire] could have been from asparagus burning. He obviously hadnB次元官网网址檛 been here long, because anyone that has been here for a long time knows thatB次元官网网址檚 done in April/May.B次元官网网址�
Randy called, to say he was at the house, and Angie told police she had to go see if her husband was okay. Randy, like her father before him, was up on the roof, and Angie told him to get down. She headed back to Ashcroft, thinking that Randy was following with their truck and trailer. She waited 10 minutes, but there was no sign of Randy.
B次元官网网址淚 was going to go back up, even though the police said it was dangerous,B次元官网网址� says Angie. B次元官网网址淭hen I saw him come around the corner.B次元官网网址� She found out later that Randy had taken the truck and trailer through the sand, where he briefly got stuck.
B次元官网网址淩andy thought he had time, but he didnB次元官网网址檛. Thank God Nevaeh went with friends. She would have been traumatized.B次元官网网址�
Angie says that 27 people lost their homes on the reserve that day: three children under the age of nine; 13 males; and 11 females. Eight of the adults were elders. Eleven members of AngieB次元官网网址檚 family were directly affected.
Angie says she had an emotional breakdown when they returned to Ashcroft. They decided to drive to the Legacy Park, where they set up their trailer, and soon many community members had come to the park.
B次元官网网址淓veryone started congregating at our camp. People had no place to go.B次元官网网址�
Community members brought a spaghetti dinner for everyone, but Angie says that most of the plates and cutlery from the trailer were up at the house, as they needed cleaning after a recent trip. B次元官网网址淭here was no power, and cell service wasnB次元官网网址檛 good. People in the family were freaking out, because they didnB次元官网网址檛 know if everyone was okay.
B次元官网网址淚t was pretty scary: people didnB次元官网网址檛 know where other community members were.B次元官网网址�
Volunteers from SamaritanB次元官网网址檚 Purse went with Angie to the site of her house, to see if they could recover any items. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 think theyB次元官网网址檇 find much, but we found a few items. There was a rock with my granddaughterB次元官网网址檚 footprint painted on it. I donB次元官网网址檛 know how it survived. She made it when she was two, and sheB次元官网网址檚 nine now.B次元官网网址�
Angie, Randy, Kelsey, and Nevaeh are currently being billeted in a house on the Mesa in Ashcroft. The billeting came via Emergency Social Services (ESS) until January 31, 2018, at which time Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada took over. Angie says there has been little communication from the band about what is happening regarding replacement houses for those who lost their homes.
B次元官网网址淲e were told in October that the band wasnB次元官网网址檛 ready for a housing meeting yet, and thereB次元官网网址檚 been nothing since. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of frustration. The ESS and Emergency Operation Centre were very helpful, and we were having meetings every two weeks.
B次元官网网址淲e thought things were going well. But when people got back into the band office, no one paid attention to us, and thereB次元官网网址檚 no support of any kind.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e looking for a concrete statement about housing. We want to be involved in the process. We shouldnB次元官网网址檛 have to be running around looking for information; it should flow to us, and be respectful. And a lot of elders donB次元官网网址檛 have Facebook or email, so theyB次元官网网址檙e relying on me to be their eyes and ears.B次元官网网址�
She says she has heard that the triplex on the reserve B次元官网网址� the newest building on the site, and which was destroyed in the fire B次元官网网址� will not be replaced, and wonders what will happen to the three people who were living there.
B次元官网网址淎ll the community members are affected, and itB次元官网网址檚 very stressful to try to answer questions we donB次元官网网址檛 know the answers to. ItB次元官网网址檚 also very frustrating for our members to try to move forward without a big part of the plan. What does forward look like?B次元官网网址�
Angie says the children have really been impacted by the fire, and that she is setting up some extra support for Nevaeh at school. B次元官网网址淪he has good days and bad days. She lost her dog, and sometimes she gets triggered and breaks down. WeB次元官网网址檙e arranging some emotional and mental support for her.B次元官网网址�
In the meantime, Angie says that she and her family and the other community members are just trying to live day to day and deal with their emotions.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 frustrating to sit with elders, who are crying. There are 13 males, all single, all living in hotels. My dad is in a kitchenette. ItB次元官网网址檚 tough on them.
B次元官网网址淪ome are in rooms at the River Inn, and they say B次元官网网址楴o one cares, I have no home to go to.B次元官网网址� When you hear these stories itB次元官网网址檚 very frustrating.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 starting to get personal, with all the family members involved. The mental, emotional strain; itB次元官网网址檚 almost unbearable.B次元官网网址�
Angie pauses for a few moments. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sorry to cry,B次元官网网址� she says at last. B次元官网网址淏ut 11 of the 27 people affected are my immediate family. We live it every day.
B次元官网网址淲e just want to be a part of the communication piece to help ease our minds and emotions about the situation we are all still living.B次元官网网址�
editorial@accjournal.ca
Like us on and follow us on
