They lost their home to a wildfire. Now they are helping neighbours protect their own

Shantelle Williams will never forget the crackle of flames as an inferno engulfed her family farm northeast of Edmonton. 

She also can't forget the faces of those who came to help her family that night.

Williams lost her home and family business in Sturgeon County on Saturday night as a fire spread from the Redwater Provincial Recreation Area to forest and farmland. 

The fire that destroyed Williams's farmstead near Redwater, Alta., about 70 kilometres north of Edmonton, has continued to burn out of control, triggering evacuation orders and incinerating more than 2,000 hectares. 

'Kept pushing on'

All was calm when Williams and her husband, Cole Williams, and their three young children went out Saturday evening for a night of bowling.

Plumes of smoke visible above their property and a panicked call from a neighbour hours later brought them home. 

Williams and her husband were greeted by an inferno — flying embers and hissing flames metres away from their house.

"The sound of that fire coming through those trees, you could just feel it," she told CBC News in an interview Wednesday.

"And the heat, your mouth was dry. 

"The smoke had just come in, it had gone from blue skies to dark orange. It wasn't a good sign." 

Within 13 minutes, their home was ablaze.

The barns and outbuildings that made up their family business, a cow-calf operation, were destroyed. 

Williams rushed to get her livestock, including a herd of more than 150 cattle, and family pets to safety. 

"We didn't even have time to think about it," she said. "I couldn't look at it because I feel like I would have just broken down. I just kept pushing on." 

As the flames spread, they opened the gates to their pens and, with the help of neighbours and strangers, corralled the animals away from danger.

Williams said her memories of the night feel surreal.

She moved through the orange dusk that cloaked her fields as the cows grew spooked and confused in the smoke, some running wildly back toward the flames. 

"We opened the gates and let our cattle just go and try to move them as fast as we could," she said. 

"By the time we got them to our other corrals, the grass around them was on fire, so we had to just open the gates and let them go."

Williams said people that came to help her family, including a man who happened to be driving by and spotted the flames, formed a "human corral" around the herd until more help could arrive. 

Little remains of their property except charred foundations and metal remnants twisted by the heat. Their historic barn, many outbuildings, along with all of their broiler chickens and laying hens were lost.  

Some of their cattle were killed but they're still assessing their losses.

Williams, 29, said she is most devastated by the loss of irreplaceable heirlooms, including Williams' engagement ring, her mother's engagement ring and historic rifles that had been passed down through three generations of family at the homestead.

The support of her community has kept her going. A grassroots fundraiser is collecting donations for their farm and countless neighbours have offered help. She said her boss has given up his home temporarily so they have a place to stay. 

In the days since they watched their home burn, Williams and her husband have been helping other residents in the path of the fire relocate their livestock, offering assistance transporting horses and cows to anyone in need. 

Williams said the tight-knit community, where "everyone knows everyone", have been leaning on each other through the crisis. 

"Everybody has just united," Williams said. 

"And that's why we have to help where we can. You know, they did it all for us and we're going to do it for them." 

As high winds fanned the flames burning across the province Tuesday, Williams and her husband spent the night helping their neighbours secure livestock. 

Conditions were so extreme Tuesday night, the flames breached fire guards and sent crews into retreat. 

The fire was again on their doorstep and threatening their neighbour's home.

"It's been insane," she said. 

"They've had sprinklers going for the last three days trying to save his home and they've been putting out hot spots between our properties. And then last night, the winds hit and it just took off." 

Williams said her family will rebuild, but she's anxious about how she might protect her home from future fire threats. 

As parched, windy conditions persist across her home county, she fears her community will face additional damage.

"I'm praying," she said.

"Homes can be rebuilt, but people can't."