It has been an emotional rollercoaster for a Fort McMurray resident, who grew up in Wallaceburg, after her family was forced from their home following the devastating fires in the Alberta community.
Tanya Houweling, née Cohmer, lives out west along with her husband and two children, ages 6 and 4.
The former D.A. Gordon Gator and Wallaceburg Tartan told the Sydenham Current in detail the events that took place for her family since the fires began impacting the province earlier this month.
The initial evacuation
“I’m not even sure where to start here,” she said.
“It’s going on two weeks since it all happened and it’s still clear like it was yesterday. I’m sure people experienced a lot more than I did through this whole ordeal.”
“The Sunday (May 1) after work, my husband came home from the store and asked if I saw there was a fire close to the city. We could see the stream of smoke from the driveway. It was 15km at the time. The radio was covering it, updating every five or so minutes,” she said.
“Within a couple hours they had evacuated the campground park and had put us on a warning to prepare, in case of evacuation. I packed right away. Important documents and enough clothes for a couple days. I had a friend living in Thickwood who invited us to stay if we were. Staying with 500 people at Mac Island on a cot with our dog would have been rough.”
Tanya said by 11:30 p.m. the notice came up – mandatory evacuation.
“I woke up my kids and got them into the already packed car. We drove downtown. Packed traffic the whole way. We went to my friends house and stayed the night,” she said.
By Monday (May 2) the evacuation was changed from mandatory to voluntary.
“The smoke was super thick in the city,” she said.
“The school was closed. I decided to stay in Thickwood as my kids have had previous asthma / bronchitis conditions. By Tuesday (May 3) the smoke had improved drastically. The fire had moved away from the city. The firefighters had worked hard all night digging trenches and were prepared for the days back and forth winds.”
“At 6 a.m. I got up and traveled back to the other side of town. The school was reopened and I brought my son to school just as any normal day,” Tanya said.
“I dropped a few things from the car inside the door, but left my car packed for the most part. I just had a feeling this wasn’t over.”
“I worked in Thickwood at 11 a.m. The day was normal and busy. Around 12 p.m. we could see smoke in the distance at Wood Buffalo. People were saying it was a new fire. We all were chatting and keeping an eye on it. Within 30 minutes it seemed to spread out. Almost a wall of dark smoke. Then we got the truth… the fire spread along the city, it had crossed the river and they were evacuating the city.”
Leaving the city
Tanya said panic spread.
“Gas stations were packed, most of the employees left within minutes. I was on the phone with my husband. They were at the evacuation center downtown as my son had swimming lessons with his class and they weren’t allowing other kids to leave.”
“He was trying to get ahold of our neighbors parents as he’s in the same class, and was hysterical with panic. My daughter was still in Gregoire at school, 20 minutes away. He lost his signal and my only thought is I have to get to my daughter.”
Tanya said she left work at 2 p.m.
“The traffic was packed. The smoke was a wall of blackness that I’m driving towards. It was like out of a movie almost like a massive storm approaching. The other side of the road was gridlocked with cars, there were trucks and cars driving down into the ditch and against traffic to get down the 4km hill, it was completely crazy.”
“Calling my husband back constantly with no answer and my best friend Krystle who works downtown, my emergency contact and my kids ‘auntie’ and I told her, if you can get there before me, pick her up. After many more calls to my husband I got ahold of him. He had followed a police officer speeding up the hill and had picked up my daughter. I told him to get to the house, pack what you can, we are leaving the city.”
She said the top of the hill was terrifying, with a “major cloud of blue smoke and flames” and two gas stations at the corner.
“We get home and I grab a suitcase and fill it with everything I could grab,” she said.
“Packed in the car with my family and dog, I call Krystle to see where she was. At the top of the hill I just came from, officers were telling her she couldn’t go back to her house. She’s frantic for me to go and get her animals as she was at work. So I go to her house and my husband and I pull out the beds to find the three hiding cats and dog.”
“By the time we get them all into the kennel, we go outside to see the fire and flames across the field 300m away. We head out MacKenzie Blvd. which is usually five minutes to drive and we are once again gridlocked. The cars are also filling up the Northbound lanes to go south. After near an hour in traffic, with the black smoke wall behind us and starting to grow closer, we made it to the end of the road.”
Tanya said an RCMP officer approached her window and told her the fire had crossed the highway and they must go down Highway 69 to the airport.
“This is where I broke,” she said.
“It’s a dead end. Where do we go? What do we do? I felt like I was going down a road to be trapped from this terror. Krystle’s friend lives in Saprae Creek and we went there to meet up. Following closely to updates we were told that they had now opened one lane or that we could wait at the airport. We decided to wait as we knew the traffic that was down there.”
Tanya said one hour later they got the report that they have opened the highway Northbound going South.
“So now with four lanes to get out, we went,” she said.
“That 15 min of driving the highway the wrong way felt strange as we passed dozens of cars pulled over on both sides of the road. We arrived at Wandering River. About 30 cars in front of us waiting to gas up. We got word that 1 was out of gas and we waited in line for about 45 minutes barely moving. We decided that we had enough gas to make it to Grassland where there were many gas stations and more than likely less wait, which it was.”
Tanya said they stayed at a campground in Long Lake that night.
“What was usually a 2.5 hour drive from Fort Mac took us six hours in total. 12 people, six dogs and three cats. The kids stayed in the RV and us in the tents. This was more then accommodating and I was extremely grateful for somewhere to sleep besides my car. The next day we decided to move on. I had a friend in Langdon outside of Calgary (about 7 hours from For McMurray) and she welcomed us with open arms.”
Tanya said the following week was difficult.
“Stress headaches, no appetite, edgy emotions, and broken sleep,” she said.
“We really had to deal with it day by day. We still are, as there is no date to return. The news was always on. I was sick of hearing it but needed to see what was happening.”
Amazing support, uncertain future
She said since the evacuation her family has received overwhelming support from everyone.
“Tons of messages from family and friends wanting to help,” she said.
“The community I’m staying in donated a whole wardrobe for all of us within 12 hours of getting here, plus many more toiletries and such. The schools allowed us to register the kids right away and waved all costs. All communities and towns are pulling together across the country to help the best they can. Even my hometown. All of this overwhelming generosity has restored my faith in humanity.”
Tanya said her family managed to go out for dinner on Mother’s Day.
“It was so wonderful to get out and enjoy it with the family,” she said.
“Someone overheard where we were from and as we were leaving the manager of the restaurant came over crying. They had paid our bill fully and asked not to be mentioned only to pay it forward one day. Definitely a day to remember.”
Tanya said she isn’t sure what the future holds for her family.
“My decisions are very grey still. I know others have a totally different path through this. My rented place is still standing but I don’t know of what the condition my stuff will be in. Our landlord lost his own home. I have good friends who have no home, lost animals, no jobs now, still staying on campgrounds, living from their cars, had been sent North needing to be flown out, was separated from family, ran out of food and gas.”
“I often feel guilty as I was able to pack some things and a lot of people had to leave with the clothes on their back. People who are now relocated all over Canada. This breaks my heart still. I have met a lot of amazing people from all over out here and I know that when I get the chance, I will be going back to help all of those people. Fort McMurray has a huge spot in my heart and my life and it will always be.”
Here are some photos that Tanya took of the fires:
