If Williams Lake were a person, she might think Mother Nature had it out for her.
In seven short years, the city has now faced two very real threats from wildfire.
Of course we all remember 2017. Weeks of sustained battles to save communities, at least two runs at the city from wildfires and a mass evacuation started by a combination of lightning, human causes and perfectly dry conditions.
Homes and business were lost in the region and lives were changed.
Stressful times and lots of heroics.
Fast forward to Sunday, July 21, 2024.
Days of sustained heat warnings led up to another 'perfect storm' in Williams Lake where, this time, a piece of tree falling on a power line at the end of a sweltering heat wave caused a wildfire to erupt in the river valley forest and make a run into the city at WL Forestry and BeeJays Auto Wrecking and Towing.
The scenario was the perfect recipe to be catastrophic, but a swift, calculated and professional response from the Williams Lake Fire Department (WLFD), the BC Wildfire Service and its contractors on the ground and in the air, the city, the RCMP and neighbouring fire departments literally saved the day.
Even residents in the city were resilient in the face of this latest crisis. They remained calm, ready to evacuate and ready to help.
One example of that came when Rudy and Susan Tritt arrived on Woodland Drive Sunday night, volunteering to move horses out of harm's way as the crews fought the blaze in the river valley and the area was under an evacuation alert.
Susan also helped move animals during the Elephant Hill wildfire in 2017.
It's people like this, and those currently helping evacuees around our region right now who make these emergencies a little less scary, and a lot more manageable.
We really have grown a lot and learned a lot since 2017.
- Efteen
