“We only had an hour to pack,”: Tumbler Ridge family lands in PG fleeing northeast wildfires

Imagine only having one hour to pack all of your essentials not knowing when you will be allowed to return home.

That was the case for Amber Bell, her husband Stu along with their pets, and three children Madilyn, Nolan, and Isla who evacuated Tumbler Ridge last week and made the nearly five-hour drive to Prince George.

What seemed like business as usual quickly escalated as one of the local schools called Bell to pick up her children.

“It wasn’t Pandemonium because people were staying as calm as they could, but everyone figured something crazy was going on,” said Bell.

“We were trying to get our camper together and there was a lineup at the gas station, which is not the normal thing in Tumbler Ridge. But everybody was respectful, waited their turn, and did what they had to do.”

Further into the interview with Vista Radio, Bell noted getting out of the smoke-filled northeast and into a better spot was the best option.

“We just knew that we had family here that had a sizeable amount of space that we could stay at as they have a nice house out at West Lake. Our eldest daughter suffers from asthma so we just really wanted to get her out of the area altogether and not exposed to smoke if we could have it.”

“We figured a lot of people would be going to Chetwynd, Dawson (Creek) and Fort St. John and that would have meant us in our camper with our dogs and our cat and three children. Prince George was really the best option for us all around.”

“We have two vehicles. I drove one and my husband drove the truck and the camper. Basically, everybody just packed a bag and I feel we only had about an hour before it was time to get out of dodge,” said Bell.

When asked if they could sense danger looming due to the behaviour and growth of the West Kiskatinaw blaze, Amber noted it was Stu who felt something big was coming down the pipe.

“I had just finished up doing a really huge catering job for Conuma Resources – they are the main mine in town and they had just thrown a massive party for all of the staff for the new Quintette mine purchase.”

“On the Saturday and the Wednesday, there were two 400-person parties that I had catered for so that was a big job and, on the Thursday morning I woke up and I was tired as it was a lot of work to get that all together. I didn’t totally believe it at first and I just needed a minute to catch my breath and by about noon my husband said this is happening and we’ve got to go.”

“I kind of wished that I could have moved a little bit faster, but you don’t really believe it until it’s happening.”

Bell adds while it is a very scary time for her family along with the 24-hundred residents in Tumbler Ridge, there is some relief knowing everything will work out in the end.

“I do feel like we are on the really blessed side of things. We are really lucky to have so much family that is here and able to help us. I have lots of friends who are stuck at a campsite in the smoke in Chetwynd who are washing their feet in the sink of their motorhome.”

“I am worried about my house plants like everybody is but if I can go home to a messy house instead of ash then I will be happy. The sense of community in Tumbler Ridge is at an all-time high – it always is and is a very unique place to live and Tumbler Ridge bands together.”

The provincial government issued an update on wildfire operations earlier today (Wednesday).

The West Kiskatinaw River wildfire is over 25-thousand hectares in size.