'Like a nuclear bomb went off': B.C. musician raced to beat Hwy 20 closure as wildfire closed in

Summer road trips have always been a blast for Sean Scallion and his family, but their 300-kilometre journey from Bella Coola to Quesnel, B.C., this weekend turned out to be one of their most unforgettable and nerve-wracking adventures.

Scallion, his wife, and their 13-year-old son were driving when they came across what the B.C. Wildfire Service described as an "aggressive" fire. 

The fire had erupted on Saturday evening and had quickly grown to 22 square kilometres, cutting off Highway 20, the only major route connecting Bella Coola to the rest of B.C.

Scallion, who is the drummer in a three-person north Cariboo musical band called Interstellar Jays, said they left Bella Coola on B.C.'s Central Coast around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, just an hour after finishing their performance at the Bella Coola Music Festival. 

They hurriedly said goodbye to the other two band members, who decided to stay in Bella Coola and left as soon as they learned the fire was rapidly approaching the road.

Despite the challenging circumstances, they managed to make it home to Quesnel, about 120 kilometres south of Prince George, safely on Sunday night. 

'Looked like a nuclear bomb went off'

Scallion made the critical decision to keep driving along the highway, maneuvering past the section impacted by the fire before it was closed in both directions later that afternoon, leaving no detours available.

Recalling the harrowing experience, Scallion described how they had to navigate a steep hill along the highway, getting up close to the raging fire around 3 p.m. Sunday. 

"[About] 1,300 metres in elevation from the bottom to the top — crazy switchbacks and gravel road," he told guest host Brady Strachan on CBC's Radio West. 

"As we were driving up it, we turned a certain bend and then just saw this huge plume, [with] white smoke on top and gray in the middle and then orangish hue at the bottom, and we're like, 'Oh wow, that's really close and looked like we were driving right into it.'"

"It was pretty wild … it looked like a nuclear bomb went off."

He remembered seeing other drivers stopping to take photos of the fire, but his main focus was to reach his son's birthday party scheduled for Monday afternoon, so they pressed on without turning back despite the danger.

Thankfully, his instincts proved right. 

"Being a father and husband [with] my family in the car, I think we should keep going just in case we can't go any further.

"We didn't realize until we were getting gas in Anahim [Lake] that the road had just been closed.

"It was a close, close call," Scallion said.

With nearly 380 wildfires raging in B.C., the province currently has the highest number of blazes in Canada. 

Authorities have identified 23 "wildfires of note," which are particularly dangerous or threatening, an increase from 20 on Saturday. Over 70 wildfire-related evacuation alerts or orders have been issued, mostly concentrated in several regions of B.C.'s central Interior.

Having lived in the Cariboo region for more than a decade, Scallion was no stranger to wildfires, including the devastating ones that ravaged the region in 2017 and 2018. However, he says this was the closest he had ever been to one.

Scallion says being prepared for wildfire evacuations is now second nature to him and his family, given their recent experiences.