‘Above and beyond.’ One Fort Simpson evacuee describes his experience

Berni Leader, an evacuee from Fort Simpson, thanked village staff, Air Tindi employees and volunteers for a “smooth” evacuation as he made it to safety in Yellowknife.

Leader uses a wheelchair and has medical conditions that would make it challenging to stay at the city’s evacuation centre. He said he was concerned before the evacuation that there wouldn’t be accommodation but, when he got to Yellowknife, a hotel room was already booked for him.

“The village office in Fort Simpson went, as far as I’m concerned, above and beyond what their job is to get me and my family out to the airport to catch the plane,” said Leader.

“Because of all the consideration and kindness from the volunteers, it made life so, so much easier.”

The evacuation of Fort Simpson has been challenging for some. Long lines for a ferry, a drive to safety past active fires, and a lack of available hotel space in Yellowknife have been concerns, with at least one evacuee telling Cabin Radio their experience had been “frustrating” despite kind and friendly volunteers along the way.

Leader and his wife described the evacuation process at its best, saying they were on the first plane out of the community. He said they chose to evacuate because they are older and because of their medical conditions. They live in the Wild Rose neighbourhood, which he said would be the most prone to catch fire.

Fort Simpson’s volunteer fire department and Hay River firefighters have set up structure protection in the Wild Rose area, including four portable water tanks, more than a kilometre of hose, and mounted sprinklers on each home along the protection line, according to a Facebook post on Saturday evening.

Forrest Tower, a fire information officer, told Cabin Radio on Sunday that firefighters can more easily set up structure protection around the community with residents gone.

“I’m concerned to all the people that are still in Fort Simpson, like the firefighters and our home and everything. As long as nobody got hurt, that’s the most important thing,” said Leader.

Leader said he is also thinking about the firefighters who lost their lives in last week’s air crash west of the village.

“My heart goes out to their family. I just hope there’s no other incident,” he said.