It was like a scene out of the movies, is how native Richmondites and Fort McMurray residents Kyle Campbell and Caitlyn Lee describe witnessing tens of thousands of people, including themselves, fleeing the northern Alberta city after a wildfire engulfed it last week.
“It was very overwhelming. I was alone with two dogs and Kyle was at work about an hour north. The ash is raining down, there’s a red plume in the sky and it’s black everywhere. It was very scary,” said Lee, now at her parents’ home, waiting for the call to return to Fort McMurray to resume her job as an environmental consultant.
“Your windshield wipers were basically used for flaming embers. It’s a scary scene. It all happened really fast. We went to bed thinking they had it under control,” said Campbell of the May 3 evacuation when the massive fire jumped a river, quickly threatening his neighbourhood.
“I started panicking. The dog knew something was wrong,” said Lee, referring to their young German Shepherd, Cali.
The one highway out of town became a parking lot, explained Campbell. People started running out of gas and running, he said. As the towering flames crossed the highway, cars lit on fire, adding to the mayhem. The two located a friends’ cache of gas and filled up their truck to get to Edmonton.
“I was scared for my life,” said Lee.
Campbell and Lee, both 25 years-old and Steveston-London and McRoberts secondary graduates, respectively, have been partners for five years but moved to ‘Fort Mac’ about 18 months ago. They say they love the city and its people and are devastated to see the destruction. About 15 per cent of the city’s structures burned down from a fire that has now scorched a reported 204,000 hectares — about 16 times the size of Richmond.
While fortunate their home did not burn down, they have organized a fundraiser with two other Fort Mac residents at the Buck and Ear Bar and Grill on Friday at 6 p.m.
The fundraiser is an opportunity to quadruple your donation to the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires Emergency Appeal. That’s because Campbell’s employer, Suncor Energy, will match its employees’ donations of up to $5,000 each. That total sum will then be donated to Red Cross, which will then be doubled by the Canadian government. A burger and beer costs $20, with $10 (ergo $40) going to the emergency relief efforts.
“We feel helpless not being able to help on the ground. We have a good situation here with our family and our friends and we have our dog. But we’ve seen our friends’ houses burn down . . . And there are a lot of abandoned pets,” said Lee.
