Joan and Ed Davies had planned to spend their golden years in Fort McMurray, but now they’re not sure there
will be a community to return to.
Joan, who grew up in Flin Flon, had lived in the Alberta community with her husband for 27 years. Then last week’s devastating wildfire struck.
“We always thought we’d retire in Fort McMurray. It’s our home, our community,” said Joan, who is now staying in Sherwood Park AB following the community evacuation, in a phone interview. “There are lovely walking trails – well, there were. We don’t know what will be left.”
Joan Pico grew up and attended school in Flin Flon. She left the community after high school, eventually marrying Ed Davies of Stony Plain AB.
The couple moved to Fort McMurray when Syncrude Canada Ltd hired Ed nearly three decades ago. It was there that their son was born and raised. Now 25, he has moved to Edmonton and was out of harm’s reach when the fire started near the northern Alberta community.
On the morning of Sunday, May 1, Joan took photos of the smoke starting to rise in the distance. The community began watching the fire burn, but the Davies weren’t concerned for their own safety.
“On Tuesday morning [May 3] my husband got up and went to work,” said Joan. “There wasn’t any smoke. It was a lovely day.”
She was doing her dishes when her neighbour let her know the community was under a voluntary evacuation notice. Shortly after noon there was a bit of ash in the air and the community was told the notice could be made mandatory, which would only give them 30 minutes to leave the area.
“I started putting a few things together, but I wasn’t panicking,” said Joan. “There wasn’t much smoke in the air.”
Within minutes the air quality worsened and families were told to flee the area immediately. Ed had carpooled to work and needed to get a ride home to his wife when the evacuation notice came in.
“I told him I wasn’t leaving without him. I’d wait at the house until he got there,” Joan said.
By the time Ed arrived at the house, the air was full of smoke and pieces of ash the size of hockey pucks were raining down around them. Burning chunks of spruce trees up to six inches long were falling on the deck of their house.
Ed rushed to help their neighbour hook up his fifth wheel and get their small children loaded into their truck.
“You go into panic mode. You don’t know what to take,” said Joan.
She grabbed her son’s teddy bear, the ashes of her deceased parents and those of her dog, and some important papers.
“I grabbed some clothes for my husband but didn’t get any for myself,” Joan said. “I didn’t take any pictures. I didn’t think to bring food. We were in such a rush to leave.”
The couple was lucky to have a truck with a full tank of gas when they left their home to begin the long journey to safety.
On a normal day it would take them seven minutes to reach the downtown core of the community; on May 3 it took them two hours.
“People were driving on the sidewalks and over the curbs to get out,” Joan said.
The couple had intended to head south, but the fire had jumped the road and police were directing traffic north, where they thought people would be safe in work camps.
In bumper-to-bumper traffic the Davies crept along a 10-km stretch of highway for four hours despite the fact the highway had been opened to allow four lanes of traffic to head north as quickly as possible.
When traffic would grind to a halt, the evacuees would get out and talk. Word soon spread that the camps were full and people were being directed back south again.
The Davies came to a police blockade and were sent to the side of the road to wait for a couple of hours before they were allowed to continue south. Once on the road they travelled for a while before a large police blockade blocked their path once again.
Eventually they were able to continue on their way, a trip that would take them back through Fort McMurray and the fire that was threatening their home and their safety.
“Everything was on fire,” said Joan. “There were vehicles burnt on the side of the road where people had to leave them because they ran out of gas.”
By 11:30 pm the Davies were forced to pull off the road to rest due to sheer exhaustion.
“Highway 63 looked like a parking lot,” Joan said. “Each time we were stopped we’d talk to people and they’d just crumple in front of you because their houses were on fire when they were running out of them. They had lost everything. We’d left in such a rush I didn’t even think to bring food. We had gummy bears and nuts for 18 hours. People were out asking for water.”
By 1:30 am Ed and Joan got back on the road again. Normally a trip to Ed’s mother’s home in Sherwood Park would take them four and a half hours. On May 4 they arrived 18 hours after they left their home.
“But we are safe. We have a house and family to stay with. We are okay,” said Joan.
Through satellite imagery last Friday, May 6, Ed and Joan’s house in the neighbourhood of Thickwood was still untouched. She describes her neighbourhood as being “one street over from the tree line.”
Joan is in constant contact with a neighbour who happened to leave a baby monitor equipped with a camera operating in her home when she left. Through the digital screen they can see that the house is full of smoke but not on fire.
Joan said the compassion she has felt from strangers during this experience is “truly humbling.” Strangers in Sherwood Park have walked up to her and given her hugs while support pours in from across the country.
There were people who refused to leave Fort McMurray, but Joan said she “wasn’t about to lose my life to save my stuff.”
In the days that have passed since they left their home, the Davies have been unable to get much rest.
“It’s really emotional and very tough,” Joan said. “I can still hear the water bombers, the crackling of the fire, the sirens and smell the smoke. We were right in the middle of the fire for so long.”
While they are safe now, there is still much to be done from Sherwood Park. The couple has registered with the Red Cross and has opened a claim with their insurance agent.
“And I want to cancel my cable,” Joan said with a chuckle. “There’s no point paying for that right now.”
Because the Davies’ house is intact, they are hopeful they’ll be able to go collect some of their belongings once the fire is under control.
But Joan knows it will be a long time before they are able to return to the community, and she is unsure what their future looks like now.
She describes Fort McMurray as a wonderful community with great people and amenities.
“And to think that’s all gone now. It’s all a big ash tray,” she said, her voice trailing off.
“All I can do is be thankful we got out safe. I know a lot of people who lost everything. I think of the girl who died on the highway and the reports are that they lost their house a couple of hours later. It’s so sad.
“We’re the fortunate ones.”
