Wildfire evacuees in Winnipeg fear how bad things could get back home in Garden Hill
Thousands to be airlifted out, as blaze threatens Garden Hill Anisininew Nation
A teenager forced out of his home due to a raging wildfire is now wondering how bad the damage will be to his community, and if he will even have a home to go back to.
"I was just thinking, wow, my house is probably gonna go down, and about all the stuff I did as a kid, the games I played," 17-year-old Dashelle Fiddler said on Thursday.
"I guess it made me feel sad."
Fiddler is one of hundreds of evacuees from Garden Hill Anisininew Nation who was flown to Winnipeg on Thursday, due to a wildfire that continues to threaten the community of more than 4,500 people located on the north shore of Island Lake.
Fiddler and many fellow evacuees are now living temporarily at an emergency shelter set up at a soccer complex on Leila Avenue.
He said he lives on the south side of the community, and could tell on Wednesday evening how close the fire was getting to his and other homes.
"I saw a light, and I could just see the fire from where I was standing," he said.
WATCH | Wall of fire seen from Garden Hill:
Fiddler said he found out late Wednesday night he and others would be flown out of the community. What followed was a chaotic scene, as people grabbed what they could before leaving.
"Everything was such a rush, so right now it's just kind of a blur. I had no clue what to bring, no one told me anything," he said.
He said he has not heard when and if evacuees will be moved from the shelter into hotel rooms.
"I guess we're all trying to find out," Fiddler said. "I've been trying to ask my parents what's going on.
"I really want to know what's going on."
Fiddler said he was still waiting for his parents to arrive in Winnipeg, as they were scheduled to be on a later plane than the one he was on.
Garden Hill Anisininew Nation Chief Dino Flett spoke to CBC Thursday night from the community, where he said the fire continues to threaten homes and property.
"The fire is really close, it's just right at the edge of our community," Flett said. "We are so far lucky that we haven't lost any buildings, homes or structures."
He said he flew into Garden Hill from Winnipeg on Thursday, and couldn't believe what he saw when he was flying over the community.
"You can't even see anything, it's just smoke," he said. "I'm surprised we even landed."
He added they are also concerned because the fire is near where bulk fuel tanks are stored, and also near a gas bar.
"We are an isolated community, so we bring in about a million-plus litres every year, and that's where we store it," Flett said.
"The fire is just hanging around in that area."
According to Flett, they flew out 134 people on Wednesday, and were aiming to evacuate another 850 community members the next day.
They have also been using barges as part of the evacuation, as Flett said you have to cross water to get to the community's airport.
"So we've been transporting people across the lake as well," he said.
In total, Flett said approximately 4,500 on-reserve members will have to be evacuated.
Evacuee Dino Harper, who was at the shelter in Winnipeg on Thursday, said he is concerned about the thousands who will need to evacuate, and how hard all of this could be on many of them to be so far away from home.
"I feel sorry for people here from Garden Hill, people are really homesick right now and people really wanted to stay home," he said.
And while Fiddler spends his time in Winnipeg, he said he will likely spend a lot of that time wondering if his house will survive the fire, and what he is going to go home to.
"It's kind of hard," he said. "Either my house is still going to be standing, or yeah, it's going to be gone."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Alana Cole