Darby Allen, Fort McMurray regional fire chief, takes a step back
Mack Lamoureux | CBC News | Posted: May 12, 2016 11:32 PM | Last Updated: May 13, 2016
Heading south to join family, 'We're going to hug a lot and I'm going to have a couple of beers'
After battling the wildfire he dubbed "the beast" and becoming the closest thing Alberta has to a modern-day folk hero, Darby Allen is taking a step back.
The Fort McMurray regional fire chief announced Thursday that after working on the front line since Day 1, he is handing the reins as director of emergency management for the wildfire to retired RCMP Superintendent Bob Couture.
"I'm OK at putting out fires and getting people out, but the next phase is not mine," said Allen, standing at his familiar post on the outskirts south of Fort McMurray to deliver a daily fire update. "It is impossible for me to thank everybody, so I just want to thank each and every person that was here and helped us fight this ring of fire."
Human face of the wildfire fight
It's been over a week since Allen began fighting the huge wildfire in Wood Buffalo.
Over a few days, the fire tore across the brush and bore down on his city, forcing 94,000 to leave, the biggest evacuation in Alberta history.
The fire destroyed 2,432 structures and damaged over 500 more. Nightly, Allen would take to the Wood Buffalo Twitter account to update all those forced from their homes. Over time, he began to refer to the fire as a living, breathing creature — "the beast" — and it's a nickname that stuck.
He took the battle personally — this "animal of a fire" was his foe.
"It's been the worst day of my career," Allen said through tears the day the fire hit Fort McMurray. "It's a nasty, ugly fire and it hasn't shown any forgiveness."
Now, eight days after saying those words, Allen admits that the fire took a heavy toll, not only on him but the community.
"It was traumatic, it was terrible and our community was affected," he said. "We fought hard and saved much of it. We should be proud of ourselves."
Throughout the fight, Allen downplayed his role, although some viewed him as a hero. "This isn't about Darby Allen and the fire," he said more than once.
But through his nightly updates, Allen became the voice of the hundreds battling the fire. For many fearing the worst, he became the face of hope.
And Allen, lauded as a hero by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, was decidedly a key driving force behind the city's successful evacuation.
"What will stay with me for the longest amount of time is that we evacuated … people in a timely fashion," said Allen. "If we hadn't taken the course of action that we did, I believe that we might have had dire circumstances."
'I'll be back in a week or so'
But after a week of battling "the beast," Allen showed that even folk heroes need a break.
"I want to tell my sons that I love them," said Allen, his voice breaking with emotion. "And I want to tell a lady called Maria, who has been married to me for 36 years, that I love her very much and I'll see her soon."
Allen is going south for some rest. He thanked everyone for their kind wishes, but said most importantly, he wanted to thank his family.
"I've been here for a fair amount of time. I'll be honest, I need a break," said Allen. "I'm going to spend time with my family, we're going to hug a lot and I'm going to have a couple of beers.
"I'll rejuvenate myself and I'll be back in a week or so. I'll get on with being a fire chief again."