Meet the helpers spending days on their feet to serve First Nations wildfire evacuees
Since April 1, 31 First Nations across Canada have had to evacuate due to wildfires, displacing 20,059 people, according to Indigenous Services Canada. Some of those evacuees have turned to helping others in similar situations.
Chateh, Alta., a Dene community in northern Alberta, had to be evacuated suddenly on May 29 due to a wildfire.
Fleeing your home can be a scary and disorienting experience, especially if you have to do so in a rush. Hayley Natannah, from Chateh, was recruited to run the donation centre in High Level, Alta., about 100 kilometres away.
She said some people were notified about the need to leave by RCMP officers knocking on their doors.
"It happened so quickly …. Some parents didn't have time to pack their child's clothes," Natannah said.
As the person running the donation centre, she was responsible for making sure people had access to clothing and essential toiletries.
The community of about 927 people has been through multiple evacuations — two floods and three wildfires — but getting things organized can still be a challenge, she said.
It was her first time taking on that responsibility and she said she wasn't quite sure how to tackle it initially.
However, she said she was soon finding out what evacuees needed and collecting donations by sharing information online.
The long days — the donation centre was open for 12 hours a day — took a physical toll, Natannah said. She ended each of the seven days exhausted with "cramped-up legs and body aches."
However, Natannah said the volunteers were instructed in how to practise self-care, which they found was essential. Without that, she said, it would have been impossible to maintain her mental health.
Making sandwiches
Raven Reid, who is Mikisew Cree, works as a music teacher with the Community Arts Mentorship Program in Stanley Mission, Sask., a Woodland Cree community. She said they lost power early as the fires surrounded them.
"Northern Saskatchewan was on fire and Stanley Mission was sort of right in the middle of it," Reid said.
The evacuation of Stanley Mission began June 4.
It was her first real experience of evacuation and Reid said she found it difficult to process.
"It was really terrible to see. The smoke was very thick in the air," she said.
As the community prepared to leave, teachers from the elementary and high schools pulled together and spent their days working to feed the community, Reid said.
"So I was peeling potatoes for hours and making sandwiches," she said.
They made 500 lunches for people to take with them as the first evacuations began.
"It is a lot but when you're doing it from your heart, it doesn't seem like it's enough," she said.
After that, Reid fled to Saskatoon where her kids live but she said many of her colleagues stayed behind to feed firefighters and other service people.
The local co-op donated food to those still present and since the community was without reliable power for days on end, it was important to make sure the frozen foods were eaten quickly.
"I really wish that I could have stayed, too… but my kids were really worried about me," Reid said.
She said the principal asked her to then go to Regina — taking her son with her — to help the evacuees at the soccer stadium. She said she would bring her guitar to hopefully provide comfort, entertainment and learning.
"It would be very scary to leave my community, especially if I have never been in a big city before," she said.
"Fine arts always help a situation."
The evacuation order for Stanley Mission was lifted June 12.
Making a difference
Residents of Chateh began returning home earlier this week.
Natannah said while she felt the evacuation was well-managed by the community, there were some hiccups. Some evacuees struggled to manage the stress of the situation and took it out on volunteers, she said.
"Not many people stop and take notice that a person's doing hard work over there," she said.
However, she was grateful to those who took the time to express their thanks.
"It makes my heart happy that they said some kind words saying that we did awesome work. It's like, 'thank you for noticing.'"
Natannah said she isn't in it for praise, though.
"It just makes me feel great that I'm making a difference," she said.
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