This is part 2 of Pastor Les's series recounting his and Ardith's evacuation from Fort McMurray. You may read the previous posts by following these links: Part 1 (Escaping the Inferno!).
Fort McMurray, Alberta Wildfires. Continuing north on highway 63, my wife Ardith and I glanced to our right and saw a lady on a horse, leading two other horses out of the mayhem. This reminded me of the plight of the animals and pets in such a situation and the kindness of people towards their furry and feathered friends. With very little fuel, we managed to drive out of the fire zone into the clearer northern skies. Looking at my gas gauge, I knew our stop off point would be Fort McKay, a Metis/First Nation Community about forty minutes north of Fort McMurray. We drove into their fine community centre with 9 km left in my gas tank!
The kindness of strangers has touched our hearts. “God will make a way where there seems to be no way.” Kindness from strangers enlarges our hearts.
Upon entering the centre, we were greeted by the community with open arms and a welcomed hospitality. There were washrooms, snacks and a place to register for future assistance. Later a delicious meal was served, cafeteria style, to the hundreds of evacuees who had stopped at Fort McKay (pronounced Fort McKie). People streamed in for hours. All were taken care of. An elementary school, a rink arena and a day care were made available to sleep over. Ardith and I walked down the road to the arena to see where we would put up for the night. Upon entering the arena, the cold of the rink hit us, so we began to check out the dressing rooms to find a place to lay our weary heads. In that room were a hand full of people and a huge dog (I have a nervous phobia about huge dogs). The owner said the dog was friendly. Yet, I could not imagine myself being watched by that dog all night, so we graciously moved on.
Sleeping on dressing room benches would have been a challenge anyway. We walked back to the centre, having decided to sleep the night in our vehicle. Even with the windows down somewhat for fresh air, the heat in the vehicle and the mosquitos, drove me to get out and wander around. I noticed a bus had arrived and was being loaded with passengers and luggage. Evacuees were being bused to the Suncor Firebag camp 80 kilometers north. We quickly grabbed some of our luggage, embarked and on we journeyed. We arrived at the camp at three o’clock in the morning. It is now early Wednesday, we have been on the go for about twelve hours. The kindness of strangers has touched our hearts. “God will make a way where there seems to be no way.” Kindness from strangers enlarges our hearts.