Loss of homes to B.C. wildfire 'hit the heart hard,' member of Cranbrook-area First Nation says

Blaine Burgoyne was sitting on his couch in the ʔaq̓am Community near Cranbrook, B.C., last week when he felt a strong wind blow through the roof and noticed his lights flickering before going out completely.

Within minutes he noticed posts on social media from people spotting smoke in the air, and he ran outside to see the quickly spreading St. Mary's River wildfire moving up the hill toward his community.

"It just ignited everything so fast that a lot of people had to get out right away," Burgoyne told reporters Tuesday.

He was among residents of about 50 properties in the community who were forced to evacuate on July 17.

Burgoyne said he sat in a parking lot and watched black smoke fill the air as the fire burned through people's homes.

"It really hit the heart hard to see that those were people's lives disappearing," he said. "The only thing we could do is sit with each other and keep each other's hopes up."

At least seven homes were destroyed by the fire, including the one belonging to Burgoyne's auntie Rachelle Sebastian.

"There's a lot of memory in that home," Burgoyne said. "That house has been there for everybody in our family. We all started out at one point in that house. … One family member moves out, another family member moves in."

The family has not been able to return to see the damage, and they don't yet have a sense of when it will be possible. Rachelle's daughter, Nakita, started a fundraiser to help her parents get back on their feet, which has raised over $7,600 as of 10 p.m. Monday.

WATCH | Blaine Burgoyne talks about the fire's impact on his community: 

Resident of B.C. First Nation talks about loss of homes

1 year ago

Duration 0:53

Blaine Burgoyne tells reporters about how the ʔaq̓am Community has come together in the wake of the St. Mary's River wildfire that destroyed at least seven homes.

Since the evacuation, Burgoyne said his life has been taken up by thinking about immediate concerns like where to sleep, as well as worrying about the future.

But he added that the crisis has brought people together in a way that's made him understand what the word community really means.

"The community coming together is really what it's about right now. The land will regrow. The trees will turn green. It's the people in the community that make it a community," he said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the St. Mary's wildfire is estimated to be more than 40 square kilometres in size but is said to be smouldering on the ground, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Residents of 16 homes in the ʔaq̓am Community were allowed to return home on the weekend after a partial lifting of the evacuation order.