Dreamcatcher Meadows was almost empty. The stalls and barns were quiet; the tack room was bare; the house had been largely stripped.
Jill Giese looked around her property and noticed the quiet in the absence of the 40-odd animals that had to be moved from the elite sport horse facility on Pemberton Meadows Road, after an evacuation alert was issued for the area north of Wilson Road in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday (July 30).
The evacuation went as smoothly as possible, Giese said on Friday (July 31), as the owners and staff executed the plan they'd had in order, and lots of friends and clients came to help out.
With her husband, some staff members and the few animals who were still on the property, Giese was dealing with the smoke and its effects, the presence of the fires, and more packing.
She had time to reflect on the power of nature, and the nature of the fire. Living in the area, she said Friday, "You're constantly humbled by nature You can't plan it, it plans you, and I like that." But it has been difficult to contemplate the problems the situation has created for her business.
On Monday (Aug. 3), she wrote in a group email that it was strange to drive back up the valley, away from the people celebrating the summer and the long weekend and "into ugliness.
"The sky was a bruised yellow-purple with a sense of doomsday all about. I have always loved the fact that we get a couple of hours of extra sunshine this far up the valley with the break in the mountain horizon at Camel Back Instead, it was heartwrenching to drive into congested darkness."
Like Giese, residents of the upper Pemberton Meadows waited and watched as crews battled the fires raging around the valley. The Camel's Back East and Copper Mountain wildfires are a looming, other-worldly spectre right on residents' doorsteps.
On Friday (July 31), the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) issued an evacuation order for the properties north of Lillooet River from 9440 Hurley River Road up to and including the Sea to Sky School District Outdoor School.
When the smoke wasn't so thick that it blocked vision, the flames chewing through the mountainsides were visible for many from multiple spots in their homes and properties, so close for some that they could hear it.
Dana Heron, a Dreamcatcher Meadows staff member who lives on the side of the property near Pemberton Meadows Road, sat outside at night to watch the fires and billowing clouds.
"I just sit out here and watch it - I don't want to say it's a nice sight, but it's something I'll never get to experience, I don't think, again in my life," he said.
Having packed up his belongings and taken it to a friend's place, Heron said he thought about the smoke- and ash-related issues, and what the valley will look like when it's all over.
"It's going to be an awful sight after it's all said and done. It's not something that's going to be too pretty. Living here, it's kind of hard to sleep at night, especially with this in your backyard," he said.
Denise Van Loon, who lives on the Hurley road, could see a fire of some sort out of nearly every window in her house. She said she felt pretty protected by the surrounding rivers and fields; her concern was that falling debris could land on hay or a dry area by the road, so she was going out every hour to make sure all her buildings and animals were OK.
She and Giese both compared the fires at night to little towns with all their lights on.
"We get quite the light show in the nighttime," Van Loon said.
Roxy Kuurne, whose farm is at the end of the paved road in the valley, said she noticed that the fires seemed to blow up at night, and she was relieved to notice some presence by the B.C. Forest Service on Monday night.
"It's sort of a comfor; otherwise you don't sleep at all," she said.
Kuurne said she mainly felt that she would like the the threat to be in the past, but she knew the firefighting crews were doing what they can do, and she has gone into the village to her job this week.
"There isn't much I can do What's the point of sitting and worrying?" she said.
Van Loon said she hasn't moved anything out yet, finding it difficult to know where to begin packing, but her family has stored photos in a Rubbermaid container and put essentials into a safe.
"Packing up, what do you take first?" she said.
Ashley Marinus, who lives on Pemberton Meadows Road, said her family had packed up all their things, and that she took comfort in the fact that their valuables such as photo albums had been moved, and that they were ready to go.
"My mom is totally stressing, because today was so smoky you couldn't see what was going on (It's a) little scary for her, whereas (I think), 'OK, if something happens, we have all our stuff already packed up, lots of people have already packed their stuff up,'" Marinus said at a community meeting about the wildfires on Friday.
The SLRD has held three meetings so far in the Meadows Community Centre, to share information about the fire and emergency operations, and another one was scheduled for last night (Aug. 5). Check the SLRD website at www.slrd.bc.ca for future meetings and information updates.
At the meetings, residents have had the chance to listen and raise their concerns, such as problems with traffic and people coming to look at the fires. Marinus said people have parked on the side of the road by her driveway, drinking and smoking. But on Tuesday (Aug. 4), Kuurne said she thinks things were more under control.
A checkpoint has been set up on the Pemberton Meadows Road to limit traffic to residents and essential personnel, and the Hurley, Lillooet River and Ryan River forest service roads have been closed to all public access. Backcountry travel has been restricted in the Tenquille Lake area.
Many have said how much they appreciate the help and support they've received from the community, and SLRD, firefighting and police officials have earned applause at community meetings for their efforts. Van Loon said she takes her hat off to the crews, and she has been overwhelmed by the offers of groceries, beds and help from local friends.
"I find that it brings the community together to some degree," she said.
Delores Los, who lives right at the foot of the Copper Mountain fire, on Friday said she was doing everything possible under the circumstances, and was prepared to leave, though she didn't want to. Officials had placed sprinklers on all of the structures, to protect the buildings and surrounding areas.
"People have been absolutely incredible," she said, as she's received many phone calls of concern and offers of assistance.
"You've just keep going and hoping that everything is going to be OK," she said.
Colette Fauchon, fire information officer for the Pemberton Fire Zone, said on Wednesday that numerous lightning and thunder cells have come through the area over the past week, but Tuesday saw a bit of a lull, with only one new fire starting. That helped crews clean up and catch up on other previous lightning strikes, she said.
Fauchon said the Camel Back Mountain fire, estimated at 440 hectares, was 30 per cent contained as of Wednesday morning, and 25 firefighters were working on that blaze with helicopters and heavy equipment. They were continuing to build a fuel-free zone on the west side of the fire to cut off the fuel, she said.
Late Tuesday night, the Camel Back fire reached the lower fire guard at one small area, Fauchon said, and crews were able to maintain the guard. She said night crews have been patrolling both of the Pemberton Meadows fires.
"They're patrolling (the) lower slopes at both fires, Camel Back and Copper," Fauchon said.
The Copper Mountain fire, estimated at 746 hectares in size, was being fought by 37 firefighters with the assistance of helicopters and heavy equipment. The crews have been burning off some potential fuels, to cut off the fire, and the plan for Wednesday included helicopter bucketing.
"The crews have been working on building a cat guard on the south edge and also installing a helicopter pad on the west flank," Fauchon said.
The Copper Mountain fire has crossed parts of Wolverine Creek, she said, and crews are containing it where it has crossed and are continuing with backburning to cut off fuel to the fire.
As of Wednesday morning, there were 22 active fires in the Pemberton Fire Zone, Fauchon said, and 170 firefighters, 20 helicopters, two excavators and two D7 Caterpillars were working out of the Pemberton Fire Zone.
Fauchon said she was still hearing stories about people lighting campfires, even with the extreme risk throughout B.C., and she said anyone with a campfire will be ticketed.
"We really need the public's help in not starting any more fires," she said.
