Years ago I was evacuated during a forest fire in northwestern Ontario. I was visiting in the area and didn’t have a home there.
It was an experience. What I remember most is the heat I felt standing a long way from the fires. We were evacuated with another family and spent one sleepless night before being allowed back to where we were visiting.
My recent experience of evacuation is much different.
When I heard about the evacuation advisory on Saturday, July 4, I had been trying to return home for two days, trying one route and then the other.
It was exhausting and I felt the effects of the smoke, like so many other people.
Standing in line to register, I met people who came to town for a reason and found they couldn’t get home again. People, including me, were constantly searching their phones to see what the latest news of home was.
I had a place to stay and some stuff in the car, so that was helpful.
Visiting the shelters, I talked with people who are grateful they have a place to stay and food to eat, while others think the firefighting should have begun sooner so they would not have had to evacuate.
Every so often, one wonders about someone. Where are they? Have they been evacuated successfully?
The biggest thing is just wanting to go home, to be in that familiar place, to know what is going on there firsthand.
It warmed my heart to see a special volunteer, Tom Jackson at the Henk Ryes Soccer Centre in Saskatoon, working with evacuees.
While the province does its best to accommodate this large number of people, it is stressful. People are anxious to know where other family members are.
Sometimes the anxiety is intense.
Going to the grocery store to buy some provisions was a challenge for several people. What do you buy? You don’t know how long you will be away.
Many people are worried about pets they had to leave behind and it seems to be part of the community plan to try to see pets are fed and watered.
For some there are feelings of loneliness.
I spoke with people who volunteered in the shelters and then found themselves evacuated. Some are trying to find family and friends to be with, while others are trying to hide out and not be evacuated.
Late Sunday night houses were searched in La Ronge for people who resisted evacuation.
I spoke with someone who said, if she hadn’t been out of her community, that would probably be her.
Evacuation is complex. You see people working hard to make evacuees comfortable and mistakes being made at times, where people have to be moved another time.
Social Services tries to group people where they will receive the best well-being and emotional support.
Many wait long hours for buses, only to travel longer distances to find shelter.
No matter how hard people try to be supportive and help, there is no place like home.
I have often heard people mention a real appreciation for those who are working in whatever way they can to ensure the safety of communities impacted by this rash of wildfires.
It amazed me the intensity of my feeling about wanting to get back to my own home. But a big thanks you to those who are working to keep our homes and communities safe for us to return to when this ends.
Valerie Barnes-Cornell, a reporter at the La Ronge Northerner, was evacuated along with all residents of the community earlier this week. Both The Reminder and the Northerner are Glacier Media publications.
