NWT residents tell of harrowing evacuations from fire-ravaged territory
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
170.71497
Summary
In this episode, we talk to residents from Yellowknife who have been forced to evacuate their homes and businesses. We talk about what it's like to leave everything behind and not know what the next steps are, and where do they go from here?
Transcript
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so I'm here with Linda Susan and Taylor and they just evacuated from from Yellowknife and we're
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here in Edmonton at the Expo Center where an evacuation center has been set up Linda can
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you just tell me a little bit about what your drive at a Yellowknife was like it was it was
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long and longer than usual so it generally would take us 15 hours maybe on a good day and it's been
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a whole whole day just getting through passing through the enterprise which was was hard to see
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yeah that was that was hard to see them wiped out and then having them it's still smoldering
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passing by and just gassing up seeing ever seeing the long lineups with all all the other residents
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from the north trying to trying to just to get out so yeah a little bit longer I know I there's no
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cell service on on the highway I used to work in Yellowknife and I've been on that road many times
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what were conditions like on the road well the conditions when we left it was not as bad we had
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open roads and things like that but then I think you had a different experience yeah Taylor just got
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here Taylor how was your drive and what were the roads like uh leaving Yellowknife I thankfully
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got out a little earlier so they were pretty they were quiet for the most part but yeah coming we
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were just in Peace River yesterday and so we came through that big uh rainstorm and so it was just busy
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roads up until like 1 30 when we got in here and I think everyone's just trying to get somewhere right now
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where do you guys go from here I know we're here at the evacuation center you'll be looked after but
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like uh journalists rarely ask how you feel but I'm gonna ask you how you feel um what's it like to
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leave everything behind and not know what tomorrow brings um it's unnerving yeah yeah just kind of not
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knowing what the next steps are and just kind of playing it literally playing it by hour uh not day
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by day yeah but by hour literally uh um have you guys ever been to Edmonton before oh yeah yeah you've
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been here many times yeah we're not that far away yeah um you said you went through Enterprise I know it
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was hard to see but can you just describe some of the scenes that were uh that were in this town I know
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it was devastated and flattened and like do you know anybody from this town and what was it like driving
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through there um well driving through there and seeing all the bird buildings and of course was
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it was heartbreaking actually um just because that's a place to stop sometimes to get gas or just to
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you know have a bite to eat or something and then to see it gone it was yeah it was definitely heartbreaking
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so I'm here with Ernest Sangers from Yellowknife and Ernest you just made the drive uh here to
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Edmonton can you tell me a little bit about uh how that drive went and uh where do you go from here
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well I was tired all night couldn't sleep uh had to drive drive it was smoky and everything
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high level for all and we took off again um how long have you lived in Yellowknife Ernest
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oh all my life born and raised uh have you ever seen fires like this in the past
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yeah I used to be a firefighter a long time ago oh okay yeah um what were the conditions like when
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you left oh it was smoking and everything there's still fire on towards a razor too on the sides