Former volunteer firefighter Steve Wilcox said he wishes he could be fighting the wildfire that has forced residents from the village of Boyle to evacuate this week.
Wilcox said it’s difficult and “nerve-wracking” for him to help his community from the sidelines instead of being able to directly assist in the firefighting effort.
“I wanna be on the other end fighting. But I understand that at my age — just about 60 years old — I’m not capable of doing that anymore. So I just do what I have to do and make sure my community is safe,” Wilcox said at the evacuee reception centre in Lac La Biche.
Wilcox manages the Aspen Grove Mobile Home Park in Boyle and said even though he can’t directly protect his community from the fire, he went door to door in in the park to make sure everyone was ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
“I had everybody prepared. We were out in 15 minutes, and everyone in the park was checking in one everybody and making sure that we were all out. For a small community, I think we all did pretty good.”
The evacuation order was issued for Boyle just before 11 p.m. Tuesday. Residents in Athabasca County who live near the fire also had to leave their homes.
With the fire growing less than two kilometres from the community, Wilcox and all other residents of Boyle, a community about 150 kilometres north of Edmonton, were told to travel north to a reception centre in Lac La Biche immediately.
Manny Deol, the chief administrative officer for Lac La Biche County, confirmed on Wednesday morning that 192 guests with 105 pets registered at the evacuation centre.
According to provincial data, the wildfire near Boyle has expanded from 300 hectares on Tuesday to more than 1,000 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon.
However, an update from Athabasca County on Wednesday night said that no further spread is expected overnight and “the entire fire line is now contained.” Fire crews will re-assess on Thursday morning but the evacuation order remains in effect.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Boyle Mayor Colin Derko said that the weather conditions made it difficult to tell exactly how far the fire was from the community.
“When the winds come up, [the fire] looks like it’s in the town. When the winds die down as it is right now, it seems like it’s a little further away. So it’s within that one-mile boundary,” Derko said.
He said the dry, windy weather conditions and the terrain have been challenging factors for firefighters trying to hold back the wildfire.
The fire started in a heavily forested area on marshland, which Derko said made it very difficult for crews to access with heavy machinery.
He said many of the volunteers fighting the fire have been working almost non-stop since Tuesday to contain the fire.
“A lot of our volunteers worked through the night on foot. A lot of them haven’t slept. They’re working so hard and working closely together, too.”
In a news release, the province said Alberta Wildfire crews are assisting local firefighters with helicopters, air tankers, and dozers.
Derko said it’s important for residents to comply with the evacuation order and stay away from the community until they are officially permitted to return.
“We don’t want to be chasing people coming in for unforeseen reasons. Phone the village office or phone the RCMP. They both have been very accommodating. We’ll help you get what you need. You don’t need to sneak in. We just want you to be safe.”
Wilcox said community members from Boyle are supporting each other in Lac La Biche.
“Every time I see somebody that’s in the town … they’re cheerful,” Wilcox said.
“They ask, ‘How are you doing? Is there anything we can do to help? Do you need anything?’ And it’s made me feel very good to see people come together like this in a time of need.”
