I never made it back home.
I got turned away. Traffic was jammed. I needed gas. I couldn’t get home. Should I go south towards Edmonton? North towards the camps? We agreed on north. I was able to get gas, praise God! I went to go north but I was turned south. North was grid locked, south was open again. The officer told me to go south. I called my husband. I couldn’t get a hold of him, all I knew was that he was home and waiting for his mom.
I had to head south, away from my husband, away from our oldest daughter, away from my mother in law. I was texting another friend who was stuck downtown and I had just heard on the radio that downtown was now under a mandatory evacuation. He had no way of getting out so I told him to hitch a ride with anyone. I kept calling my husband, but my phone kept dying and reception was spotty. I was getting really frustrated at this point.
I finally got a hold of my husband. I told him I was going south and to try to head south but if it’s safer, go north. I drove through smoke. I saw small flames on the hill. I saw fire on roof tops. The Super 8 and Denny’s were in flames, it was almost completely gone. The emergency alert had gone over the radio several times in the last couple hours. There was no “this is just a test”. This was no test. This was real. Everyone must evacuate. Stay calm and leave as quickly as possible.
I was a few kilometers outside the city when I had to pull over to nurse the baby; my husband, daughter and MIL were still stuck uptown.
I was pulled over, facing south. I saw clear blue skies. I looked behind me, at my city, my home, back to where half my family sat, for hours, on top of a hill, slowly inching toward safety. Looking north, it was black. The smoke was thick. Vehicles, all heading south, passed by me, 5km/h. The northbound lanes, all heading south. The only ones going north were emergency vehicles.
As I drove, as I pulled over to feed the baby, as I made phone calls, and stayed in contact with my husband, names kept going through my mind. The worship leader at our church, he’s a firefighter, he’s staying behind to fight this thing. His brother as well. Another from the church, a part of my bible study, her husband is also a firefighter. It was Tuesday, tomorrow was our wrap up for the Wednesday evening Bible Study. We had a farewell party planned for one lady, an RCMP Officer, who was moving on to BC. These people were staying to fight this fire and get everyone out to safety. Would they be ok? How long would they be separated from their families? The only prayer from my lips was “Jesus… Jesus… Jesus... “
I had to pull over just south of Fort McMurray, when I knew I was out of immediate danger. I had been traveling for hours with the kids. Baby was poopy and hungry. My middle child was hungry. Thank God I had just bought $260 worth of groceries; I was able to pass my child some fruit and a yogurt while I nursed our baby in the front seat. After I had the children somewhat satisfied, I took the dog out to stretch then continued on south, slowly inching forward, further away from my husband, daughter and MIL, who were still stuck up down. Further down the road I had to pull over again. I needed the break. I wanted to close the gap between myself and the rest of my family. For hours I traveled south while my husband continued to text me - we’re still on Confed. Traffic not moving.
It was a nightmare. I text my husband around 10:55pm, I had just passed the 1km to Wandering River sign. I was 200KM south of Fort McMurray. There were vehicles parked on both side of the road and the line getting into Wandering River reached from the gas stations to the 1KM sign. I did not need gas but I needed to get out with the kids. My little girl had been crying since the Wandering RIver sign that she wanted to go home and sleep in her own bed. Baby needed another change and some food. We all needed to get out and stretch and refuel...on coffee. At 10:55pm I had texted my husband “I am 1KM outside Wandering River”. Now, at 11:55pm I text him “just pulled over in Wandering River”. I had traveled 1KM in 1 hour! I was 200KM’s south of Fort Mac. I still had roughly 250KM to go.
We have been out of our home for over 4 weeks now. We will be going back tomorrow but it will only be for one night. A chance to assess any damages, to tape up our fridges and deep freezer and to grab what we can (and to finish the load of laundry I started that day 4 weeks ago!). We will be living away from home at least another month, possibly longer.
It has been a crazy rollercoaster of emotions. It is such a weird situation that we find ourselves in. Our small family, along with tens of thousands of other families and individuals, are all in the same boat. We all have different stories, different challenges. We have scattered all over the country. Some have lost everything. Others still have their home standing. Some will return, others will be moving on. Tens of thousands of stories, all different, yet all connected. I watch the news and it’s me they are talking about. The evacuees are myself, my family, my friends, my church, my city. I have never been part of a major news story before. Never been part of a small news story before. It’s weird. I see the signs across Edmonton, everywhere I go, “donate to Red Cross here, all money goes to Fort McMurray and helping the evacuees”. “20% off to all Fort McMurray evacuees”. “Free entrance to evacuees”. It’s weird. It’s amazing. It’s humbling. The Bible tells us that is it more blessed to give than to receive. I have always read that and thought, but in order for me to give, someone has to receive. You cannot give without a receiver. Now, I am the one on the other side of that equation - in a big way. My family and I, we are so very grateful. Without all the givers, we would be at a complete loss. We pray that those giving are blessed in return. We pray that someday we will also be able to give to others in need.
From the bottom of one evacuee’s heart - Thank you. On behalf of my family - thank you. These past 4 weeks have been a long 4 weeks.
The first week was completely overwhelming and exhausting. We were barely thinking straight, barely functioning. We had a lot coming at us, a lot to figure out, a lot to do. All of the help and support was overwhelming and amazing. Bless you! Bless you all.
This journey isn’t over yet. We still have a lot of questions to work through. We still have a few weeks to go before we can go home to stay. But we are making the best out of a bad situation and taking this time to spend with family and friends that we normally don’t have enough time to be with. I am working through a lot right now and I am hoping to journal more and post to my blog more. Thank you to all my readers, all 5 of you, for taking this journey with me.
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