Picking up the pieces
Fort Vermilion offers comforts of home for those affected by High Level wildfire
Parents try to keep their children busy putting a puzzle together at the Fort Vermilion Community and Culture Complex, where about 300 Dene Tha’ evacuees from the Chuckegg Creek wildfire were being housed on Friday.
Fort Vermilion The parking lot of the Fort Vermilion Cultural Complex is full Friday morning as children play and people keep themselves entertained with games of crib and lighthearted conversation.
As the northern Alberta Chuckegg Creek wildfire continues to burn out of control, Fort Vermilion — a hamlet with a population just over 700 located about 100 kilometres east of High Level and 864 kilometres north of Edmonton — is feeding and housing close to 300 people, many coming from the Dene Tha’ communities of Meander River and Chateh in northwestern Alberta.
When evacuation orders came for communities because of smoke affecting the air quality, Fort Vermilion swung open its doors to allow evacuees to stay closer to home.
“For some elders this is the longest they’ve ever been away from Chateh,” said Lacey Lizotte, a volunteer at the reception centre, who had just finished a near 24hour shift.
Lizotte, a teaching assistant and missionary, said helping others is nothing new to her or the community. She’s been helping to make sure evacuees have food, a place to sleep and medication.
“Volunteers and evacuees are getting through this with humour and lightheartedness and it’s been beautiful to witness,” said Lizotte.
Cameron Cardinal, a volunteer, has been helping to co-ordinate the centre.
“The circumstances are tough but we’re doing the best we can,” said Cardinal.
Just before noon Edward Akazay of Meander River and Philip Martel of Chateh pass the time with a game of crib, accusing each other of cheating with every passing hand.
“It’s been good,” said Akazay. “At home we had no power for a few days and a fire ban, here at least we get meals because at home we couldn’t have a meal with no electricity and no fire.” ‘Everybody knows each other’ To help fill the time and keep morale high the community has organized musical acts and hand games in the afternoons.
Martel added he’s made a lot of friends since coming to the centre. He and Akazay agreed that probably wouldn’t have happened if community members had to go further south to larger reception centres in Grande Prairie or Slave Lake.
“The community has pulled together to make this happen,” said Akazay. “It’s good, everybody knows each other.”
Since the centre first opened, a number of tents have been added outside the complex to help keep families comfortable as they stay together, and two detached portables have been brought in to add more sleeping arrangements for elders alongside additional shower and laundry facilities.
“The resilience is incredible,” said Lizotte, whose brother Lance Lizotte has also been pitching in to help out.
Anyone who can is offering up space for evacuees, he said.
“A lot of houses you’ll see like 10 vehicles there,” said Lance Lizotte. “The closer ties, a lot of family, a lot of friends.”
Locals are also donating what they can to help out. The reception centre issued a request for baby supplies and toiletries on Tuesday night and a call for boy’s and men’s clothing, hairbrushes and Q-tips Friday morning.
Many evacuees say they are now ready to get back home. The initial evacuation was set to last 72 hours, but has since been extended. ‘It’s all the same as you left it’ Fire crews are keeping the outof-control Chuckegg Creek wildfire from encroaching further on High Level, where the blaze had grown to more than 99,000 hectares by Friday. High Level Mayor Crystal McAteer on Thursday said the nearly 5,000 evacuees need financial help in the face of the ongoing “very real” danger. Later Friday, the UCP government announced financial aid for displaced residents.
But fire officials are optimistic they are getting the upper hand.
“Every time I walk through High Level today I’m smiling ” High Level Fire Chief Rodney Schmidt said Friday afternoon. “From the community perspective, don’t worry, it’s all the same as you left it.”
Schmidt, also serving as the structural protection specialist, said there were 154 firefighters in the town protecting homes and property.
Those firefighters have been moving flammable and combustible objects away from houses and setting up sprinklers around town in case the wildfire gets closer.
Alberta Wildfire also used controlled burns earlier this week to ignite anything that could potentially move the fire closer to town.
Scott Elliot with Alberta Wildfire said weather conditions remain favourable but emphasized it is still difficult to put a timeline on when people can expect to return home.