Shani and Matt Ekman abandoned their fire-threatened home in southern Canada and found refuge with relatives. But the fire is also approaching, and the couple fears having to go even further.
“We are ready to flee,” Matt Ekman, 37, told AFP in West Kelowna, British Columbia.
The couple settled 14 months ago in this small town of 30,000 inhabitants, whose region is full of lakes, pine forests and mountains. Now, smoke and incessant ash rains dominate the landscape and paralyze or reduce commercial activities.
Thousands of residents were evacuated and took refuge in hotels or with relatives. Thousands of others are on the alert, waiting for a possible alert to evacuate.
A few residents, most of them without masks despite the polluted air, walk their dogs on the sidewalk. A small number of cars are driving with their headlights on and several roads are closed.
Visibility is practically nil a few meters away. It is also recommended not to consume running water, even boiled.
“It’s terrifying,” Shani Ekman says of the burning smell that permeates everything and the smoke that darkens the sky of what until a few days ago was their paradise.
She adds: “Friday evening, we did not know if we would have news on Saturday, but we had some: the house is still intact”.
The couple, who only took their passports, photos, a few spare linens and their pets, said they were optimistic about the improved weather conditions.
“But anything can happen,” relativizes Shani Ekman, who also wanted to take her wedding dress.
Firefighters are battling two large fires that have coalesced in the area and burned down several properties, authorities said. However, they are not yet able to assess all the damage.
Greg Heck, who has lived in the region for thirty years, has experienced several fires. “But this one is the most voracious,” he said as, before his eyes, several helicopters refueled in Lake Shannon before leaving to fight hell.
Mr. Heck, a retired emergency services employee, cleans his ash-covered car, in which he and his wife have crammed a week’s worth of clothes, medicine and hygiene products.
“We are ready, but we hope it will not come to that,” he hopes.
The fire, whose flames are not visible from West Kelowna, monopolizes conversations in the few bars that have remained open and the hotels where many evacuees have been relocated.
Several businesses in the city display messages of thanks to the firefighters on their storefronts. A church invites the inhabitants to seek solace in the reading of the Gospels.
Despite the threat, most of those interviewed by AFP remain calm, consider themselves lucky, and assure that they will have time to evacuate “without panic” if the worst should happen.
“Every hour I make sure we’re only on high alert and monitor social media to see if family and friends are safe,” Tina Gilmore says while walking her dog Turkish. “Everyone is doing a great job.”
At the Jim Lind Sports Hall, evacuees with nowhere to go can register with authorities. At the entrance, volunteers distribute water, food and hygiene products to them.
“I think the main thing for many is to hear a kind word and get a bottle of water while they think about what to do next,” says Trevor Freeman, Food Bank Manager. Central Okanagan community.
“I’m happy to see something like this, that people stick together. That’s what being a country is all about,” said Dawson Robertson, after collecting water and food, who was evacuated with his family on Friday and spent the last two nights in his car with his fiancée.
Shay Nicole and Paryss Fiddler decided to camp with their family in the gym parking lot because they couldn’t find a place to stay with their pets.
According to them, uncertainty is worse than cold nights and no bathroom. “We don’t know how long we will have to stay here,” laments Shay, 33. “I don’t even know what happens to my house or if I will be able to go home soon.”
21/08/2023 04:46:37 – West Kelowna (Canada) (AFP) © 2023 AFP