Local Community Advertising
Many of us have spent countless hours following the situation in Fort McMurray for one reason or another, but not many can speak about what it is like to see the destruction first hand, other than first responders.
During the month of May, the BC RCMP sent 150 officers to Fort McMurray, including Kelowna Cst. Jesse O’Donaghey. While the pictures and video splashed on the media speak volumes about the destruction that occurred in the city, the impact on a first responder such as O’Donaghey is life changing.
“When we first arrived in the area we actually drove and it was quite a long trip and we didn’t know what to expect,” explained O’Donaghey. “When we first got into the area it was definitely an overwhelming experience. I had visions in mind of what to expect and anticipated what I might see, but what I saw wasn’t anywhere near what I had prepared myself for.”
O’Donaghey described the damage and destruction as overwhelming and massive and he couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for the residents to flee their homes in a panic state with walls of flames on either side.
The RCMP constable said to see that type of destruction in an urban setting was upsetting.
“Words cannot even explain the amount of damage to a whole neighbourhood or entire community, I just could not believe what I was seeing. And how it is going to affect so many different people’s lives, so many families who are going to return and see their home is no longer there.”
O’Donaghey was among the BC RCMP officers tasked with securing the city and ensuring the property was safe and contained. While he looked at the burned buildings and destroyed homes, O’Donaghey described his feeling of comfort knowing that amid the destruction there were no bodies, and no one was harmed.
“It had to have been a miracle with the amount of destruction there and the path that the fire seemed to have taken that no lives were lost. That was amazing.”
This is the first time in his career that O’Donaghey has been tasked with responding to such a massive incident, one he will never forget as the images of burned home and possessions is etched in his memory.
“It was amazing how the entire country came together to support Fort McMurray. We encountered some individuals who came from Surrey and they had gathered donations themselves. Instead of shipping them up they wanted to deliver them personally, which I thought was a very kind gesture.
“Unfortunately, they did not realize they couldn’t deliver it directly to the city limits and we had to direct them back to a small town. They then realized they didn’t have enough fuel to get back to the last gas station that was open, so we had to work to get them gas and safely out of the area.”
O’Donaghey says he was touched by the Surrey residents and the work that went into helping complete strangers who have had their lives turned upside down. The constable said being in the middle of a city, completely evacuated, and pin drop quiet will be a memory he will never forget. The eerie and dramatic scene of what was left behind and what wasn’t was “unbelievable.”
“Everything was disintegrated, but add to that the smells, odours, and the other things you pick up with other senses made it even more overwhelming.”
O’Donaghey is no stranger to dealing with forest fires and destruction as he has dealt with his share in the Okanagan, but not to the massive extent as in Fort McMurray where 15 per cent of the city was destroyed.
The Fort McMurray wildfire is more than 500,000 hectares in size and remains out of control. Help from across the country has poured into the community as fire fighters work to get a handle on the widespread blaze.
Local Community Advertising