An apocalyptic scene is what a former Okanagan journalist described as she scrambled to leave her home in Fort McMurray while a wildfire raged.
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"There was a big gust of wind. The sky darkened and the smoke was so thick. Ashes were flying everywhere. I thought the fire was coming," said Holly Hashimi (nee Miyasaki) as she was stuck in a traffic jam trying to escape her evacuated neighbourhood. "I thought I was going to die trapped here."
Hashimi, a former reporter at the Penticton Western News, Kelowna Capital News and the now-defunct Kelowna.com, is now a civilian front desk watch clerk at a RCMP detachment in Fort McMurray. It was late afternoon when her bosses told her to go home and gather her things as a mandatory evacuation alert was issued. As it turns out, one of the largest fire evacuations in Alberta history. She grabbed her pets and basic necessities and drove out of her neighbourhood to chaos.
"There were flames coming from the forest, traffic was deadlocked and people started cutting each other off. Someone knocked down a chain link fence in a school field and then other people started crossing through it," said Hashimi.
Read more: Fire forces thousands to flee in Fort McMurray
Meanwhile, her husband, who works 45 minutes away was also trying to flee. It would be hours before they could meet up at the Albian Village work camp where evacuees were being sent. They were set up in cots in a gymnasium full of people and their pets. The couple decided to leave the camp around 3 a.m. They had heard the road was clear from an official after it had been jammed up for hours with cars and believed it was safe to head to their friend’s house just north of Edmonton.
"It was dark and the power was out. The drive through Fort McMurray, the smoke was so thick you could barely see the road. In some places cars were abandoned, facing the wrong way and there were little fires on the side of the highway. It was apocalyptic," she said.
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Down to a quarter of a tank of gas, and no refill stations open nearby, they had heard RCMP had jerry cans for evacuees. They finally ran into a man just outside a small town who had a truck full.
"I didn't catch his name, I wish I had. He just said this is courtesy of the community of Fort Saskatchewan. He gave us a half tank of gas and some food. He wouldn't take our money, we are just so grateful for his help," said Hashimi.
Hashimi, who grew up in Kelowna knows the danger of wildfires. In 2003, her parents were evacuated from their home and she had covered wildfire situations from the view of a reporter, but this was something different.
"I think if I hadn't had that background I would have lost my head. I work as a volunteer for victim services now and we have been called out to assist when someone has their house burn down. In this instance I am not sure if I should be the one giving or getting help," said Hashimi.
By all signs, she and her husband have lost the house they lived in for six years because of the wildfire that has evacuated over half of Fort McMurray.
"We have heard lots of reports that the whole south side is gone, but we haven't had anyone visually see that our house is gone," she said.
Technology is telling her not to get her hopes up. The Hashimi's have an emergency smoke alarm that connects to an app on her phone.
"It kept coming up as saying emergency, get out, smoke alert. If we haven't lost our house, I will assume everything is ruined at the very least," she said.
Having not slept for over 24 hours the Hashimi's said they are unsure of what happens next.
"I guess we are (homeless) for awhile," she said.
You could hear the strain and exhaustion in Annette Antoniak’s voice as she answered the phone Wednesday morning.
The Western News reached Penticton’s former city manager in Edmonton, which she reached at 5 a.m. after fleeing the fires consuming the area around Fort McMurray.
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“It just happened so quickly. Everything seemed fairly under control, then by noon yesterday, it had changed. You could just feel it, and you could see it … it was very close,” said Antoniak.
Antoniak, found herself right in the thick of the fires, first helping others evacuate, before having to clear out herself. She found herself working at one of the facilities that are part of her responsibility as CEO of the Regional Recreation Corporation of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray.
“McDonald Island Park is one of the sites that evacuees were being sent to and registered,” said Antoniak. “We had a huge trade show that was there so we very quickly had to make sure that we were clear of all the field houses so that we could accept people,” she said, adding that they were helping the municipal staff with the evacuees.
“We had to ramp up, everybody rolled up their sleeves, but at the same time, we had 450 staff that were anxious for their homes,” said Antoniak. “Over the course of the day, different areas of the municipality were being evacuated, so they had to leave and collect their belongings, and get together with their people, and we were getting more and more people in.”
Antoniak said it was incredible to watch the community come together, and their passion for helping each other.
“There were people coming in yesterday who lost their homes and literally just had the clothes on their backs,” she said.
Antoniak became an evacuee herself, as the McDonald Island Centre itself had to be evacuated.
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“Everybody did the best they could under the circumstances, and then finally, we were evacuated,” said Antoniak, adding that many were taken to a different evacuation site, about 40 minutes away while others headed south.
“For me, we headed to Edmonton and it took us eight hours to get here. It was quite a journey,” said Antoniak. The trip could normally be made in about four hours.
Antoniak arrived in Edmonton at about 5 a.m. this morning. Then, after a few hours sleep, she was up and trying to get updated, both on the situation and with people concerned about her.
“I was checking all my emails. Everybody is concerned, they are worried about you and my phone died partway through,” said Antoniak. As to the whether her own home is still standing, she said she has no idea.
“There is nothing you can do, those are material things and life is more important than that.”
- With files from Steve Kidd