Awareness of the south cariboo wildfires was a backdrop; we carried on with our usual daily tasks and practices. At the time, everything seemed to be under control until suddenly an overnight wind and lightening storm blew out our power and then our phone, shaking us to a more alert state. Our telephone was restored first and we received calls from close friends and family, telling us of the alarming increase in fire activity. On the third day without power our generous neighbour took our freezer goods into his freezer and started up his generator. We offered 2 gallons of gas which was all we had on hand.
Let me mention here, that the Cariboo is a vast plateau in the south-centre of British Columbia, with lots of wilderness. Our daily mindset is a mixture of rural living on an interface of trees and thick-tangled underbrush, wild animals, range land for cattle, resource extraction, lakes and dirt roads. The commercial centres are Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House. All of these areas were under threat of the wildfires. Abruptly, our daily activities were less pressing, replaced by the importance of preparing for possibly having to leave the area. We packed a few things into both vehicles. It became evident that we had three categories of possessions: 1) what we needed on the road if we had to spend a night or two somewhere without food or facilities, 2) ourselves, our two large dogs, some clothing, and leashes 3) important papers, laptops and a few of our most valued objects. I watched my mind categorize what was important. I’m generally a minimalist; yet even so, I’d never ever had to think this way.
On the fourth day, our power was restored and we learned that our village gas station was operating once again - a $30.00 limit per vehicle and a $20.00 limit to fill gas cans. $20.00 only filled our 5 gallon can 2/3 full. Our usually stalwart neighbour who took in our freezer items appeared uncharacteristically worried about how much gas we all had and mentioned several times the length of time his generator had to work to get the freezer level up to par with our stuff. He and another neighbour had also set up their fire pumps in the lake and were hosing down their roofs and the perimeters of their houses. We took 2 more gallons of gas over and brought our freezer items home and this seemed to ease the tension between us.
That night we watched the TV news and the seriousness of the situation sunk in. The Williams Lake Airport was even closed. That we had phone and electricity seemed nothing short of a miracle! Although our particular location in our village was still safe, two days later we decided to try and get out. The smoke was very thick. We didn’t like the feeling of being trapped. Exact information on which roads were available was difficult to ascertain, partly because things were changing so quickly and partly due to no cel service in the area, making it challenging for even emergency service providers to communicate with each other. We set off in our two vehicles with our two dogs and worked our way through the back roads, taking a wrong turn, back-tracking to correct it and eventually arriving at a cariboo highway checkpoint, where we were told that there was no going south, as the highway had been closed only 10 minutes before. 100 Mile House was being evacuated.
It was uncanny with burning fires on the both sides of the road, burnt telephone poles being replaced by a dozen crews from the power company, smoke haze, emergency crews everywhere. Only two gas stations in Williams Lake had power and we lined up for gas. The young couple behind us were part of the hundreds that had just been evacuated from the community adjacent to the airport. After filling up we went to check on Gendun Drubpa Buddhist Centre, let the dogs out of the vehicle to feed them and send some text and email messages out to friends and family. Perhaps bizarrely, I watered the plants. After, we high-tailed it home - a 2 1/2 hour odyssey - arriving just before dark.
The next few days we heard planes flying overhead and read much news from our friends and village community. We felt blessed that we had power, telephone, were able to remain in our home and freely roam our property. We worked hard at staying calm, but you could feel the larger panic setting in. The smoke came and went. We were not allowed to leave our village without a permit. If you needed medication you could go to the Volunteer Fire Department and put your name on a list. A designated person would take the alternate route out and pick it up in Williams Lake. Mail delivery stopped. Very few supplies were coming in to our General Store. I received a disquieting email from our Gendun Drubpa Centre Director.
Colleen’s Account:
Once the evacuation alert was issued, I packed the Thangkas and bigger statues and altar items into my car along with a small amount of my personal belongings. The next day I decided to evacuate due to very poor air quality. I left all our valuable and holy objects in the care of one of our members further away from the city I was not able to remove our extensive library, our Maitrya statue or other ritual items or supplies because I drive a small sedan and had to leave a bit of room for my personal precious items and at that point in time was not sure if I would have take my grandchildren as well because they were in my care. (Their parents were out of town and we were not sure that they would be allowed to get back to bring them out.)
I called as many friends as possible from Williams Lake and surrounding areas to see how they were doing and for those who were part of our Gendun Drubpa Buddhist community, pass on important wildfire practice information, gleaned from Lama Zopa’s Advice on Wildfires. This took about three days, as people really wanted to talk. Barrie and Marilyn, owners of the beautiful property where our Stupa for World Peace and Environmental Harmony is located, at Spokin Lake (25 mins northeast of Williams Lake), were still at home and reported that helicopters were using the lake to fill their buckets with water. Bulldozers at the south-east corner of lake had pushed through and built a fire-guard.
A State of Emergency was called by our government for our region. Life was surreal. It was like we were under house-arrest; our main preoccupation was to keep abreast of the ever-changing situation. The road going north to Quesnel and Prince George reopened, but on a permit-only basis. Before the week drew to a close, Williams Lake was also evacuated and everyone was directed south to Kamloops. The whole city shut down as the fires were only 7km away from the centre of town. Now, supplies were really getting scarce. The smoke rolled in even thicker. Our eyes and throat burned. I began to feel the urgency to get to Vancouver (a 6 1/2 hr drive), as I had a 4th (my last) treatment scheduled in a series of treatments I was receiving for a lesion on my tongue. I continued my Medicine Buddha practice and posted updated wildfire news on the Gendun Drubpa Facebook. I offered a free “Stress-Busting” yoga class at my village studio. It was well attended and it helped us feel connected!
We had had three days of good progress on the fires, so after class Gary and I picked up the dogs and headed out, for the second time. We knew that if we made it out, we would not be allowed back in. We made it out to the highway and south to Lac La Hache before we were stopped at an RCMP check-point. The route was eerily quiet and smoky with occasional cars driving north. From Lac La Hache a police escort led us through the communities of 108 Mile Ranch, and 100 Mile House which was also closed with no services. When we were dropped off at 93 Mile and allowed to proceed along Highway 24 to Kamloops, we were ecstatic ‘to have made it through’. When we left home we were prepared to have to go north first and around to the east, toward Alberta before going south, which would have been a two-day trip. We drove with our SPOT emergency GPS device so that family could follow the route and know where we were. That night two intrepid dusty travellers and two weary old dogs made it to the Vancouver area, to our oldest daughter’s home, smelling like we’d just stepped out of a campfire. We ate french fries for supper with a stiff chug of scotch to soothe the throat and spirits and went to bed.
Colleen’s Account:
During the early days of the evacuation, the air quality was rated at 46 on a scale of 1-10. From all reports that I have read, it is still very bad. I expect we will be experiencing air quality issues for some time to come. The Canadian Red Cross has been extremely helpful on a personal level, helping families with expenses while evacuated but we are very uncertain about what we are going home to or if the winds will kick up and we will be rushed out again. We are all living in uncertainty and trying to cope with the unknown. Our members were scattered to the four winds...Kamloops, Smithers, Prince George, Quesnel, Vancouver, Vernon, Kelowna, Abbotsford and…We truly appreciate all prayers on our behalf and any contributions to help us move forward from here with less worry and concern. We hope to be able to be present and able to support our community very soon. Blessings to all, Colleen
After a couple of days in Abbotsford, we received an email from Barrie and Marilyn who had finally had to evacuate a few days before we left:
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| Photo by 150 Mile House Fire Dept |
The map for the Spokin lake fire looks pretty scary, contacted Cariboo Regional District rep yesterday, we knew that multiple homes on Spokin Lk Rd were destroyed, she called me back and said our place was NOT on the list. Today neighbours mailed that we lost the carport and garden shed - house is standing!!No mention of stupa or cabin but imagine from the direction the fire seemed to go that they may be OK as well. Perhaps request for prayers could go out for saving the stupa as this is not over yet. Take care, see you sometime soon I hope, we are with Barrie's brother and it sounds like town may be getting closer to opening up again next week. Hugs Marilyn and Barrie
A friend who evacuated with her husband and children, Anne’s Account:
We feel lucky to live in a country with supports in place for these types of crises. There are lots of donations of supplies for people who need them, and the people of Prince George are offering everything imaginable, from room in their homes to pet care, child care, taking people out to do things, driving people places…. it’s really endless. They have just stepped up in every way imaginable and it fills our hearts up every single day.
Another friend described it this way:
We have been away from home for 2 weeks now, and while we are grateful to be safe and comfortable and wonderfully well-looked after, we still feel like balloons accidentally let go into the world - disconnected and uncertain of our purpose. There are no plans to make, no logical next step to take, just the courage (? The word that came to mind) to wait. I feel like a parcel: "left until called for". May the call come soon for those of us displaced. And may we never forget what it felt like to be thrust out into the world by forces outside of our control.
On July 27th Williams Lake opened up again to residents able to return on their own, and in good health, but with cautions to be prepared to leave in 30 minutes if the need arises. The city is still on alert. The fires are still burning. Barrie and Marilyn and other residents of the Spokin Lake and Mountain House areas were allowed back finally, on Aug. 1.
 Deer sleeping in the playground |
| We should also think compassionately about all the animals, wild and on the range; even the insects |
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