Disbelief at the thought of evacuation
Guy and Jo Werry have lived in Flin Flon for 44 years. They are grateful to have arrived in the Pembina Valley after the mandatory evacuation order came out last Wednesday, giving all residents of Flin Flon an hour and a half to evacuate the Northern community.
Guy said he sort of had his head buried in the sand regarding the wildfires that were heading towards his home community.
"This evacuation has actually been a shock because we've had forest fires around before, and we've seen a lot of places evacuated, and never Flin Flon. And so, there is a significant air of unreality about the whole thing." He added, "I was just assuming that we're not going to get evacuated and we're trusting God that we won't have to be (evacuated), that everything will be safe."
They did fill up their vehicles with gas, though, and when the call came to leave, he repeated it was a mix of disbelief and heartbreak.
Harsh reality sets in
He recalled seeing a lady walking her dog up the street, and she told Werry she didn't have a vehicle to leave. He pointed out that there were buses leaving that she could take, but she reminded him she couldn't take her dog on the bus. He admitted feeling guilty, knowing she probably had to leave her dog behind.
He said there was an aura of adventure as he and his wife Jo, his son Matthew and his wife Mindy, and their three sons took three vehicles packed with what they could fit into them in an hour and a half and joined the convoy out of town.
Hard decisions to make
Matthew Werry was born and raised in Flin Flon. He is a business owner. He recalled the scares the community experienced last year, when Cranberry Portage was threatened by wildfires but not Flin Flon.
He was working Wednesday morning, and he started hearing vehicles rushing up and down the street around 3:30 pm. Realizing something was happening, he packed up his tools and headed home to talk to his wife, Mindy.
"As I'm heading around the perimeter highway, I see the flames coming up and over the hill into the bowl at Flin Flon at the Creek coming out of Cliff Lake, and I'm like, 'OK, this is real.' And just shortly after, I saw that the evacuation notice came over the radio. And so, I'm like, 'OK, this is surreal.' So, I went and talked with my wife and then headed home, phoned the boys and said, 'Get ready.'"
As a new business owner, he admitted that one of the hardest things for him was being torn about what to pack.
"I was torn beyond belief. I've got my kids packing up our house and stuff we needed to take, and I'm actually almost in tears because I'm sitting there, and I'm packing up my business and not my house. And so, it was really hard."
Little time to get what you needed
Owen, 21 years old, recalled helping pack up in a hurry.
"It was just unbelievable, packing up the car and stressing out about what we needed. What could we grab for pictures and stuff like that? (I was) trying to grab stuff that was important to us."
Leaving it all behind
Matthew described the line of cars leaving the city as bumper-to-bumper traffic with one straight line of vehicles heading South.
"All of a sudden, you got guys flying by, coming North with their emergency lights on or their four-way flashers on. As we're leaving, there are people from communities all over close to Flin Flon, rushing in."
Both Guy and Matthew expressed their gratitude for the kindness they received along the way, with gas stations staying open late.
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Unexpected hardship
At one point, Matthew and Mindy's vehicle lost its Serpentine belt, and they had to be towed to Swan River, where they spent the night in their car while Guy, Jo, and the boys continued their journey South.
"I'm a person who believes that when people do things and go above and beyond, they need to have a shout-out. And so, Valley One Stop Auto and Service in Swan River just went above and beyond. They made sure that within an hour our car was ready to go back out on the road and, jeepers, the price they gave us was phenomenal."
A range of emotions
Matthew's mom, Jo, chimed in with her gratitude.
"When you're in a situation like this, the emotions are unreal. It goes from crying to madness, to just sadness, and the uncertainty is what really gets to you at times, but the kindness of people is absolutely awesome. We saw so much kindness along the road, and I am very thankful for the Lord, who provides. He provides our basic needs. He provides encouragement from different areas, and it was just so wonderful that we had a place to come to."
Priorities align quickly
Matthew's wife Mindy also shared her feelings, recalling when they had to be separated from their boys and from Guy and Jo to wait for the car to be fixed.
"It just really solidified how important family is," she said, breaking down in tears, "that the things at home are just things and family is what's important. Just being able to get to them and be with them and knowing that everybody is safe and we made it out ok was all that really mattered, and things could be replaced, but family is definitely where your heart is."
The long journey to a temporary home
Owen drove his car most of the way to the Carman area, arriving Thursday morning around 7:30.
"The drive down here took 15 hours with the breakdown. It was absolutely brutal. And I drove most of the way. I was up for almost 24 hours at that point. We got the stuff in the house and the cats and dogs."
Looking back
Once they arrived, they were able to keep an eye on their home and the neighbourhood with their Ring Doorbells until the power was shut off Friday night, according to Matthew.
"It was nice to see. People were posting pictures from their cameras just so we could see, because there is a lot of uncertainty."
Once the power was shut off, Matthew said it was the most uncertain he had felt and "the nerves really shot up once we lost power."
Gratitude for a warm welcome
Guy expressed his gratitude for a shared meal the family was able to enjoy with friends in Morden and the kind words of welcome at the Carman Co-op, who asked them if they were evacuees.
While they are grateful for the space they can stay here, they are acutely aware this is not the story for all evacuees and there are mixed emotions of gratitude and guilt knowing some people had to leave their animals behind, some are staying in crowded school gymnasiums and some have limited resources to provide for themselves at this time.
Mixed emotions
Guy's thoughts also go to the graduates that were supposed to be celebrating this weekend, and quickly move back to gratitude for the help the area is receiving from around the world.
"We have literally helicopters arriving from Colombia on a different continent to help evacuate people from Pukatawagan. And so, as heartbreaking as it's been for us, there are others that have it far, far worse."
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