“It takes a community” — Valemount digs deep for Jasper wildfire evacuees

By Laura Keil

It’s a Sunday afternoon and the scene in Sherry Tinsley’s Valemount hair salon doesn’t appear out of the ordinary. A man with salt-and-pepper hair sits in her stylist chair, and she snips and measures and spritzes water. The man stares into the mirror with a satisfied grin. “They won’t recognize me when I go back to the church,” he says. “No more mop-top.”

The story that led to Adam Helman sitting in Tinsley’s chair is, in fact, far from ordinary. Helman — a mechanic who came to Canada as a Polish refugee in 1967 — is one of approx. 5,000 residents and workers and 20,000 tourists who were forced to evacuate Jasper Park and townsite Monday July 22nd. While most have moved on, a few have stayed, hoping to either return home when they’re permitted or to hunker down while they plan their next move.

Tinsley and Helman trade jokes. The atmosphere in the salon is genial, despite the hardships and long days of the past week. 

After being released from the chair, the two hug — what Tinsley says is the payment for the haircut. 

“If your car ever breaks down, call me, I’ll fix it,” Helman says as he departs.

She sweeps up the cuttings, and talks about her work this week beyond her usual job running The Cut Above salon. She was one of several locals who rallied the community to support Jasper evacuees, staying up all night Monday to Tuesday sourcing and cooking food and helping people in whatever ways she could.

“This place burnt in 1998,” she says of the salon-apartment complex where her mom lived at the time. “It’s such an empty feeling. You can’t explain it.”

The evacuation has touched nearly every person in Valemount, Jasper’s neighbouring village of 1020 people, and the response has been nearly as broad, led by community leaders plucked from current plans and dropped into a logistical and emotional scenario that’s been held together with the compassion and generosity of an entire village.

Lianne Abbott was not yet aware of the evacuation when she got an unexpected call from a good friend last Monday night.

“She said, ‘I was just sitting here praying, and God said to tell you there’s an open door over you,’” Abbott relayed.

Minutes later Abbott learned of the evacuation of Jasper residents and visitors, many of whom were forced to head west into B.C. in the middle of the night. The gridlock meant it took some people seven hours to arrive in neighbouring communities normally an hour’s drive, as vehicles turtled along a highway flanked by burnt trees and active fires.

As Creekside Outreach Society’s program coordinator and a New Life Centre board member, Abbott knew her organizations had a role to play. At first they planned to open the church for breakfast, but soon realized the need was more immediate. She unlocked the New Life Sanctuary and began preparing. Soon she got a call from a nearby motel saying two motorcyclists who’d been driving all day and were soaking wet needed a place to sleep as there were no rooms available. Then a family of seven showed up at the church, followed shortly by a family of six. They brought them all in and gave the families rooms normally reserved for the Creekside Outreach thrift store in the church basement.

Abbott then got a call from the Village’s Emergency Services at the Community Hall asking if they could receive a bus.

Sure, Abbott said, thinking they could make space in the dining area of the basement.

This was followed by four more requests to accommodate bus passengers fleeing the fire, after which she told them they were definitely full.

The last bus showed up unannounced. The driver descended and greeted Abbott warmly. “Praise God, sister!”

“Praise God!” Abbott replied with trepidation, wondering how she would fit any more people inside.

In total, roughly 225 people slept on every available surface in the New Life Sanctuary building, from chairs to the floor to heads resting on tables, with luggage stacked along hallways and in impenetrable piles

Tinsley, who is President of the Valemount Food Bank, joined Abbott at the church late Monday night.

“I met her at the church and with cereal, peanut butter jam, coffee essentials,” Tinsley said. “And then we started peeling potatoes and carrots and got meat sauce going and hamburger soup and we haven’t stopped.”

Community-wide response

Hundreds of Jasperites forced west into B.C. have found refuge in the homes or on the properties of Robson Valley residents, many of whom are family and longtime friends, while others have been given free or discounted places to stay at hotels and campgrounds. 

“The support that the residents of Jasper have received from the Robson Valley community has been truly remarkable,” Jasper Councillor Wendy Hall, who was evacuated to Valemount, told The Goat. “Since our arrival at your doorsteps on Monday night, following the evacuation, we have been graciously offered lodging, meals, and all kinds of assistance; we immediately felt like we were part of your community. You are indeed great neighbours.”

The connections between Jasper and the Robson Valley have never come into such relief, many have noted. And along with the connection, comes familiarity — comfort in a dark time.

Spontaneous conversations among displaced residents sprout everywhere — from the medical clinic waiting room to a pop-up yoga class to a downtown sidewalk. Many of those remaining have confirmed they still have homes, but much uncertainty remains about when they’ll be able to return. A few are taking the opportunity to continue summer holiday plans elsewhere. Some are travelling to vacant homes offered to them in BC and Alberta. Others who evacuated to the west are hunkering down in the Robson Valley — particularly Valemount — for the short to long-term, hoping that sometime soon, the highway will reopen and they’ll be able to start the inventory of what’s been lost.

What’s clear is that residents from the Robson Valley are continuously keen to help. Valemount’s Anglican-United Thrift Shop have opened their doors each day; residents and businesses have donated food and money and created their own fundraisers; Robson Valley Community Services support workers, Northern Health mental health workers and community paramedics have offered support; the Valemount Bakery put out a sign welcoming Jasperites to play games and enjoy free pastries at the otherwise-closed bakery, outstanding generosity by owners Tim Haus and Susan Umstot, who were themselves under an evacuation order at the time due to the Beaver River fire.

In terms of evacuee support, the list goes on and on.

“I don’t want to get into naming names because we will miss somebody,”  Abbott says. “But there’s not an organization that really hasn’t pitched in.”

Abbott says posting about needed supplies on facebook instantly results in multiple offers of help. And while at first there might have been a concern about running out of food, Abbott says their fridge and freezer were actually more full after two days of serving meals, thanks to support from the food bank and donations.

She estimates that Creekside Outreach, in collaboration with the Food Bank, has served roughly 1100 meals in the six days following the evacuation to hundreds of people — three meals a day. Tinsley says a legacy of food bank donations from pipeline expansion workers are underwriting the response. Abbott is grateful that local agencies and residents have worked together, some of them collaborating for the first time.

“When a community’s agencies are well, the people are well,” Abbott says.

On Sunday evening, Abbott, Christine Torgerson, Shelley Mainprize and Sherry Tinsley — some of the key volunteers — were busy chopping vegetables and monitoring three casserole dishes in the oven and pots on the stove. The tiny kitchen in the basement of the New Life Centre has become a hub for the community effort to alleviate a loss most cannot imagine.

On the menu Sunday were Swedish meatballs and pasta, Shepherd’s pie, two salads, homemade biscuits, cheesecake and more. A few people popped in early to ask when dinner would be served. Five o’clock, the women chimed, barely pausing as they readied the buffet table.

The women say they’ll keep going until they get fewer than 20 diners and then will just respond to individual requests for help.

Legion refuge

Pete Pearson learned of the evacuation from Valemount residents who had stopped to chat with him. He was in the backyard around 9:30pm and had left his phone in the house to charge. Unbeknownst to him, messages and calls were piling up and when he looked across the street he saw there was activity at the Community Hall. 

“I checked in with the (Emergency Support Services) team at the Community Hall and I saw the fear of God in their poor eyes.”

No one had planned for this scenario. As both a Village Councillor and an active member of the Valemount Legion, Pearson knew he could provide additional support and so he opened the Legion for anyone needing refuge and bathrooms. He also welcomed motorists who slept in their cars in the legion parking lot. The first people arrived around midnight.

“We had people from all over. The first couple was from Switzerland, they went over into that far corner; there was a young couple with a 2-year-old boy from Hinton who went to Jasper for lunch (and got stuck on the other side of the fire).”

During that 39-hour period without sleep, Pearson, along with several volunteers who joined in the morning, welcomed evacuees and helped cook pancakes and sausages for hundreds of people in the morning and into the afternoon.

On the weekend, the legion hosted their regular Friday night dinner and Sunday breakfast, and Sunday afternoon hosted a special jam session at the request of Jasper musicians eager to channel some of their energy into music. Over the past week, not just locals but also evacuees have offered to pitch in with things like dishes and tidying up.

Emergency Response stretched

At the Community Hall Monday night and Tuesday, the Village of Valemount’s Emergency Support Service (ESS) team set up an emergency reception centre where they helped direct evacuees to places they could park, camp, sleep and eat.

Valemount CAO Anne Yanciw says ESS mobilized immediately upon hearing of the evacuation. 

“They were in close contact with the Jasper EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) to understand what the needs were and how they could support.”

Unfortunately, planning to accommodate a mass evacuation had not been part of the ESS planning to date, since she says Valemount is such a small community and larger centres are better suited to doing so.

Yanciw says the Village and ESS team were glad to help as many people as they did, including being able to offer washrooms, places to park for the night, and information as it came in. Best of all, was seeing all the people pitch in.

“(There was) an amazing group of community volunteers who showed up and helped wherever they were needed.”

– CAO Anne Yanciw

News of buses heading south sent by tour companies, Jasper rafting companies and Jasper Park were relayed to members of ESS and community volunteers who helped spread the news to evacuees lacking vehicles who were located around the village. One volunteer shuttled evacuees around town in the community bus. Others researched transportation and communication questions from evacuees and collected a list of homes that were offering a place for evacuees to stay.

Of course an unexpected evacuation that big wasn’t without its challenges. Yanciw says some of the roadblocks included adapting to an interprovincial event with multiple jurisdictions, understanding the rapidly changing information and knowing what to tell people, and finding capacity for that many evacuees.

ESS lead Kari Clay says the team is always looking for volunteers and welcomes anyone interested. During the evacuation Monday to Tuesday morning the Community Hall was manned by just three ESS Volunteers. Luckily the ESS team could connect evacuees with resources across the community.

“I am very proud to call Robson Valley my home,” Clay says.

Nearly all large-capacity buildings were thrown open, including Valemount’s arena which hosted people overnight for two nights and allowed people to rest, take showers, and use the internet.

Mayor Torgerson helped direct traffic throughout that first night and was impressed with Valemount’s outpouring of support and generosity.

“Your willingness to step up for our Jasper neighbours defines the true spirit of kindness and community unity. Your actions have made an immediate and significant difference, bringing hope and relief to many. I deeply appreciate your compassion and dedication.”

Abbott says she’d be remiss if she didn’t thank the people of Jasper for being so patient and collected during such a tumultuous time.

“It’s not comfortable to be in that position by any means, and they were so patient with us while we figured out what this was going to look like. Under the circumstances, they all had the best attitudes. They were really amazing people,” says Abbott. “It’s been a very unique experience and it’s quite humbling.”

Shelley Mainprize agrees. “I’m not sure where it came from, but a quote came to me and I said to (my husband): they’re not leaving footprints in our house, they’re leaving footprints on our hearts.”