Evacuees from Woodridge are back home now—and for one resident, the realization of what could have been hits hard.
"All the homes in our town had been spared, and out town had been spared. But speaking with the firefighters, they said it was the closest call they have ever had," says Cheryl Wilson-Janz. "If the winds and rain hadn't come, then they think they probably would have lost the town within the hour."
Wilson-Janz, who is a member of the Woodridge Community Club, says when the town was ordered to evacuate, it was extremely difficult.
A part of that was because of the work she was doing there, volunteering with others to help those evacuated from Carrick, Badger, and St. Labre, as well as firefighters.
"On Wednesday evening, while we were in the middle of preparing food for the firefighters, we got our evacuation order and were told to leave the club immediately, and go pack," Wilson-Janz says.
"Going from somebody that was able to help somebody, and was now on the flip side, was a complete change."
She personally knows a lot of the firefighters that were battling the blaze in the RM of Piney, she says, with some even being on the club board with her.
It's hard for her to express what she feels for them.
"I guess the only word that maybe comes close, but doesn't, is just 'grateful.' We are so grateful to those guys and to those women that were out there giving their all to save our town," Wilson-Janz says.
To help show their gratitude, she says a car show put on by the club will largely go towards funding the local fire department.