ENCORE | 'They're not just numbers. These are people we know': Ashcroft, B.C.'s wildfire devastation
** Originally broadcast on July 18, 2017 as part of a two-day special in Kamloops, B.C.**
On Monday, Sept 4, Anna Maria Tremonti talks to Stan McCarthy, 150 Mile House fire chief, who spent 41 straight days on the front lines of the wildfires.
It's July. Never mind the smoke hanging heavy in the air, the huge fires burning kilometres away, front line workers doing their best to tame the wildfires in Ashcroft, B.C. need to be fed.
The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 113 kitchen keeps busy making sure that happens, dishing out meals.
After wildfires took out power to part of the town, legion volunteers like Pat Kilt have been preparing free meals for the community. When they found out that crews working on the hydro lines weren't getting meals they decided to feed them too.
"They don't stop working ... there is so much work around here that they have to keep going."
The legion hall is stuffed with food supplies, showcasing the generosity of the 1,600 or so people who live in this village on the banks of the Thompson River.
In early July, a fire, fuelled by winds and sagebrush reached the riverbank but not the village. Instead, it was the Ashcroft Indian Reserve that was devastated by flame — little is left standing.
We drove up to the sandpit and by the time we got there, my house was already engulfed.- Angie Thorne, resident of Aschroft Indian Reserve
Down by the banks of the river, some of the 76 people live on a campsite after having had to flee the reserve.
Related: B.C. wildfire evacuees seek refuge in Kamloops
Jonah Anstett, one of the people fighting the blaze and saving homes, has been a volunteer firefighter for 16 years.
But 2017 has been a tough year.
In May, Anstett was present when they found the body of the local fire chief who drowned during floods that ravaged the region.
Now, there's fire.
They're not just numbers. These are people we know.
This wildfire is unlike anything he's ever seen. He says the heat and unstoppable winds have been particularly bad.
"It's hard seeing people you love … losing everything," says Anstett.
"They're not just addresses. They're not just numbers. These are people we know."
We're protecting homes, says the veteran volunteer firefighter.
"[It's] not easy watching people you love hurt."
Listen to the full documentary at the top of this post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Cathy Simon and Josh Bloch.