聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 In addition to watching television reports of the wildfire that destroyed portions of Fort McMurray, Alta. last week, many Kamsack area residents kept up with the changing developments by following Facebook postings on the Internet, including those by former resident Russell Thomas.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The son of Lorraine and Charles of Kamsack, Russell, who has earned a reputation as an excellent portrait artist, began his postings of the approaching fire on May 1 when he said: 鈥淒ramatic view of the inferno in the Abasand area. Yikes! Either the wind has shifted or this thing is getting much bigger.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Following are exerpts from Thomas鈥檚 Facebook posts made from May 1 to 5.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ord has just come down that Prairie Creek is 小蓝视频 evacuated,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s much as I like hot summer days in spring, this is not the best forecast for the job that lies ahead to put out these fires.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Later, he said that the worst of conditions had developed: 鈥渁 combination of temperature and relative humidity, expected around 3 p.m.聽Twenty-eight fire forestry fire fighters on scene with a total of 100 ordered from around the province.
鈥淭ruly never been more frightened in my life.聽 I am so grateful to the first responders and the media folks who hung on to the end.聽 To describe this as a catastrophic event is an understatement.聽We are all praying for the safety of every single person.
鈥淚 am so proud of my family for braving the exodus without me,鈥� he said. 鈥� I am proud of Dylan Thomas-Bouchier for working social media and sharing what is happening in real-time.聽 I am proud of Ben Thomas, as he stays strong.
鈥淚t is the worst feeling in the world 小蓝视频 separated from my family. I know I am not alone.聽I am doing the only thing I can, which is to communicate as best I can with the outside world. I will stay online and on the phone as long as is required.聽Godspeed to all those still making their way out of town. Bless you all. My heart is full, knowing that Heather Thomas is safe.
鈥淚 am so grateful to the Mark Amy Treatment Centre for allowing use (of its) facility as base of operation.聽 I am doing my best to communicate with the outside world and will stay at my post as long as is necessary.
鈥淚t is hard to describe the day and hard to imagine the days that lie ahead.聽 All that matters is that people and family are safe.聽 I am so grateful to the amazing people at Mark Amy Treatment Centre for giving me a temporary home, computer, telephone and a place to stay connected to the world.
鈥淢y prayers are with everyone still on the highway waiting for gas to arrive.聽 My prayers are with family members who are still trying to reconnect. And my prayers are with the amazing men and women who are battling this fire.
鈥淔or safety reasons, I am heading south to Edmonton in advance of potential changing winds.聽 Wish me luck.
鈥淚 have arrived safe and sound in Edmonton.
鈥淭hanks to Vicky LaPrairie, Heather Thomas, Dylan Thomas-Bouchier and Ben Thomas will be flying 鈥� to Calgary. We will finally be reunited as a family and will stay at Mike and Kathryn Wagner's house until it is safe to return to Fort McMurray.鈥�
Accompanying Thomas鈥檚 words were several photographs.
鈥淭his graphic illustrates the incredible growth of the fire,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he emergency operation centre had to be moved several times. It is now three hours south in Lac La Biche. With high temperatures, low humidity and wind gusts of 70 kilometres an hour, it was a day from hell.
鈥淚 will be in Calgary in a couple of hours. I can't wait for my family to be fully together again.鈥�
On May 5, Thomas said: 鈥淭ogether at last.
鈥淚 cannot express the relief I feel right now. My heart and eyes overflow.
聽鈥淪oon we will be seeing scam "charities" raising money to help Fort McMurray.聽Where can we donate so that funds will be earmarked to help the people who were burned out?
鈥淚 literally evacuated Fort McMurray with nothing but the shirt on my back and flip-flops on my feet.聽I was rather smelly after a day and a half of running from the fire.聽Thank goodness that my friend Graham gave me some shorts, a clean shirt and clean underwear.
鈥溾�業 don't want them back,鈥� he said.聽(LOL)
鈥淥ur family reunited today in Calgary.聽 The feeling of hugging them all the moment they walked in the terminal is something I will never forget.
鈥淭he gratitude we feel for every offer of help - space, meals, clothing, etc. - is profound.聽 Just thinking about the generosity brings tears to my eyes.聽 It has been a remarkable outpouring of kindness.
鈥淲e are among the fortunate.聽 Our home is still standing, and as long as the situation doesn't devolve, we'll have a neighbourhood and a functioning community to return to.
鈥淗owever, that return will likely be several weeks down the road, maybe longer.
鈥淭hanks to Stan Taylor and Run Digital Inc., I will have a space to do my United Way work.聽 My colleagues are scattered across the province, but we'll be using technology to begin the recovery planning. Our agencies will need all the support we can possibly give them.
鈥淭oday was my first opportunity to hear a firsthand account of what my family went through during those harrowing hours on Tuesday. I am so grateful for their safety and every person and organization who helped them, including Vicky LaPrairie for facilitating the flight out, and the guy who slipped Heather $60 to help in the effort to get to safety.
鈥淭here are too many miracles and acts of kindness that punctuate this experience to put in a single post or full-length book.聽 I think it would take volumes to capture the narratives of the past three days. Bless you all.
鈥淚 know of at least one client who lost a house and one (or more) of my paintings. My commitment is to repaint any precious memories lost if you want me to. It may take me months, possibly longer, but this is one small way I can help.
鈥淚 guess I should say that this is assuming our house and studio are still standing.聽 It appears that will likely be the case.
鈥淎s an evacuee of the Fort McMurray fire, it will be some time before I am able to get back to painting.聽 I will need to beg the patience of my many clients waiting for commissions.
鈥淭he good news is that Birdsong Studio is still standing, and unless things change, I will have a studio to return to.聽 However, it will be several weeks, possibly longer.
鈥淢any clients have lost portraits I have done for them because of this horrible tragedy.聽 I will be working on replacing those in the months and years ahead.
鈥淭hank you for you kindness and encouragement.鈥�
