During the worst of the wildfires, both 100 Mile House and Williams Lake were closed, leaving residents of the surrounding areas without access to the cities they usually rely on.
Local shops, volunteers and community centres stepped up to fill the void.
Lac la Hache was caught in the middle of the evacuation orders, unable to head north or south and return due to road blocks along Highway 97.
Two Lac la Hache women were among many who stepped up to help out with their communities and others around the South Cariboo.
Elisha Logan and Julie Machado, both volunteer fire fighters and single moms, did their best to keep the communities of Lac La Hache, Forest Grove and many others around the Cariboo fed and stocked.
Logan noticed a need in her community.
“People were starting to get really freaked out — what are they going to do — and most people were like ‘Maybe I have to evacuate because we’re not getting any supplies,” she said.
“I actually was out in the 108 helping fight fires out there and we had lots of guys ready to go out there and do that but nobody was doing this. I talked to my assistant chief and said if it’s okay with you guys I’d like to step back from that and take over because I’d like to fill this need here in this community. They said ‘absolutely.’”
Logan started small. She spoke with a couple of friends who had already evacuated and they told her to empty their fridges and take what she needed. Jeanette McCrea offered up the use of the community club and Logan got to work.
“I can’t stand having hungry people around. I just have this need to feed people so I just kinda jumped in there. We have the resources to do it, we’ve got the facility to do it and we just need somebody to step up and actually do it,” she said.
“The outpour of support has just been phenomenal. We’ve had people coming in every day with eggs. Even the Hungry Bear has been sending us over food and then I started getting calls from Alberta saying, ‘Hey we’ve heard that you are doing this and we’d like to donate some stuff.’”
Soon, the community club became a hub for Lac la Hache, serving nightly meals, operating as a food and donation centre during the day and even occasionally hosting musicians.
Machado helped out in a different way. Working with the food bank set up in Forest Grove, Machado used her credentials as a fire fighter to access permits to help drive food through the Cariboo and Chilcotin.
“We’ve been getting food in from Alberta and basically we’ve been separating it and dividing it up between all the small towns who haven’t gotten any help and just making sure everybody has enough,” said Machado, when the food bank was still in operation.
“We’re all over the map right now. Anywhere that needs any supplies,” she said. Machado made trips from Forest Grove to the 108, Forest Grove to Miocene and reserves in the Chilcotin. When the evacuation orders for the area were lifted, herself and firefighters at Forest Grove brought some of the food to the South Cariboo Recreation Centre for those returning whose food had spoiled.
“Everybody is very grateful and a little emotional. It’s been kind of touching and sad at the same time but it’s been good. People are happy. Without it, people would be in a lot of trouble right now, plus it keeps the community together,” said Machado.
Machado says the early days were tough, as she was working to keep her children safe as well as her community.
“My friend from Forest Grove actually took them down to the coast to my mom’s house, so that way we could focus on helping out here. It’s been a little sad without them but at the same time, I’m relieved that they are safe and okay now.”
Logan kept her 11-year-old daughter with her in Lac la Hache.
“She has been amazing here with me helping out in the kitchen, helping out just doing whatever she can. Sometimes it’s playing with other kids, evacuee kids who come in and they are pretty upset and she’ll be like, ‘Hey, let’s play.’”
Community spirits were high in Lac la Hache, she said.
“It’s a big social gathering for everybody. Spirits are so high here. We’ve had evacuees say ‘Man, once this is over I don’t know if I’ll want to go home,’ which is amazing.”
At the community club, she said they were averaging feeding about 80 people a day for dinner, including RCMP members and evacuees, with approximately 20 volunteers.
“It’s funny because we’ll have a shipment come in around dinner time or something and everybody will drop what they are doing. Everybody who is eating will come and unload trucks but just anybody who is around if there is a truck coming in they will all go grabbing boxes and unloading it,” she said.
“It’s really a town effort,” she said.
“I’m just really proud of our community. Everyone is staying so close and helping each other and just for how bad this is, it’s pretty remarkable how everybody has stayed strong and been there for each other. I’m just proud to be a part of it. Even though it’s terrible, but it’s still quite the experience and I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” said Machado.
“If somebody is without and you can help them, you do it,” said Logan.