Residents of the tight-knit community of Venables Valley southwest of Ashcroft are trying to remain hopeful as they wait to hear the extent of structure loss in the wake of the Shetland Creek wildfire, which swept through Saranagati village on the evening of July 17.

鈥淲e鈥檝e heard there is structure loss, but we鈥檙e uncertain of the numbers, and the fire is still doing its thing,鈥� says Damodar Paquette, who was evacuated from the community with his wife and two children.

鈥淲e have an individual going in there from our community to look at the situation, and we鈥檙e not making any announcements until the damage has been assessed. Right now we鈥檙e keeping our hopes up, but at the same time we don鈥檛 want misinformation that will give people false hope.鈥�

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District is putting the preliminary estimate of structures lost at fewer than 10, but officials have not been able to enter the area to do a complete assessment.

Many members of the community of around 80 people were attending a meeting on July 17 that had been called because of the threat of the Shetland Creek wildfire, which started south of the community on July 12.

鈥淚t was a FireSmart meeting to prepare our homes,鈥� says Paquette. Venables residents had seen the lightning and thunderstorms at the beginning of the week (鈥淣ot good news鈥�), and knew there was a fire south of them, so the FireSmart meeting was arranged.

It was not the first time that Venables residents had talked about fire mitigation, and Paquette says that steps had been taken in the past to try to mitigate the potential for damage in the case of fire. There had also been training to help people deal with fires, and community members had successfully put out small lightning-caused fires in the past.

However, Paquette adds that a big part of dealing with fires is knowing when to escape.

鈥淲e knew there was a fire, and that it might stay there or come here, but we didn鈥檛 have much chance to discuss it,鈥� says Paquette. 鈥淲e were talking about how to deal with this fire, but it was announcing itself 鈥� it was there in the sky, we saw flames over the ridge 鈥� and it said 鈥楴o, you鈥檙e going to get out of the way鈥� and did its thing.鈥�

Evacuation was made easier, adds Paquette, because most members of the community were at the meeting and saw the threat.

鈥淲hen this fire came to our valley there was no 鈥楢re we going to fight this fire?鈥� It was moving pretty fast and we were seeing trees light up like matches down the valley.

鈥淭here was no argument; it was 鈥楲et鈥檚 evacuate now.鈥欌��

Paquette says that what followed was stressful.

鈥淲e went home filled with adrenalin, and within two hours everyone was out. We had sheep and were trying to get them into our truck, but after an hour of them panicking we were unsuccessful. We have low expectations, but high hopes, that they鈥檒l survive, be able to find food and shelter and water.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping for the best for them, but we had to have priorities. In the future we鈥檒l have equipment and training for [getting them out] if it happens again.鈥�  

When residents left on Wednesday night there was uncertainty about what had happened, and an expectation that the village would be devastated. The next day they heard that the fire had not gone everywhere and that most structures were okay; then the wind picked up and there was another wave of fires in the valley.
Now residents are just waiting for the fire to be gone so that they can get a clear view of the situation.

鈥淲e will reassess once we know and come up with a plan as a community of how to tackle that,鈥� says Paquette. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the test of a community. I remain very hopeful. There are plenty of challenges in this world 鈥� that鈥檚 the nature of this world 鈥� and I hope that as a community we can face it. The most important thing is that there were no casualties.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not out of the woods. It鈥檚 devastation and part of nature, but at the same time humans have always been able to work around that and find great opportunities. Destruction can lead to new creation, and maybe it will help us rebuild better. We remain hopeful that we will be able to sustain our losses.鈥�

In the meantime, the residents of Saranagati village have been relocated from Cache Creek to Kamloops. Paquette says that the Kamloops community has been very welcoming, which is helping them greatly, and he and his wife are trying to make sure their children don鈥檛 feel the weight of the situation.

鈥淭hey remain in high spirits, and they鈥檙e still happy. We鈥檙e trying to shelter them as best we can. We haven鈥檛 told them yet that there are losses. We鈥檙e waiting to see the full reality of it.鈥�

Residents are also trying to gather together on a daily basis, to keep their morale high. 鈥淭his calamity is a great opportunity to bring us closer together and allow us to absorb ourselves in the important things in life, in our spiritual life. Everything else is temporary.

鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful for all the help and support that friends, and the larger community, have shown. It touches our hearts. And we acknowledge, and are grateful for, all the hard work firefighters are doing in this humongous task of protecting everyone from these wildfires. It鈥檚 a devastating force that makes us seem insignificant, but at the same time shows the awesomeness of nature, and how we have no control over it.鈥�

Paquette adds that while these wildfires are becoming more and more of a reality in B.C., he sees a silver lining.

鈥淲e love our area and our community, and we want to work around this. Once the fire has gone it鈥檚 exhausted its fuel, so we don鈥檛 expect another fire that big anytime soon. Looking back, we could have been better at mitigation, but we have been trying, and it will definitely become more of a priority. There will be more motivation to do stuff on this, because we don鈥檛 want to suffer any more loss.鈥�

In the meantime, residents wait to see the full extent of the damage to the community they love.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not getting our hopes up,鈥� says Paquette. 鈥淚t is what it is; we can鈥檛 change anything. We鈥檙e hoping.鈥�