SUNDRE – The outpouring of support from businesses and organizations that offered to help in any way that they could has touched the lives of a group of Jasper evacuees who found sanctuary in the Sundre area after being forced to flee the massive wildfire that reduced to ash and cinder a substantial portion of the iconic mountain getaway destination.
When Greg West received a call from his daughter Charissa West – a manager at Maligne Lake – giving him a heads up that she’d gathered a group of some 32 evacuees in need of temporary accommodations, he told her the door was open.
By the time the group had travelled the distance, many had been able to line up alternate accommodations elsewhere, and West – who owns an acreage southwest of Sundre off of Coal Camp Road – found himself hosting roughly a dozen evacuees, all younger employees including some international workers.
“It’s been great, they’ve been great people,” he told the Albertan on Aug. 7.
Not one to seek the proverbial spotlight, West was initially reluctant to agree to the request for an interview. But he nevertheless wanted to convey not only his but especially the evacuees’ profound appreciation to businesses and organizations in the community that without batting an eye offered to help out.
Although many of the individuals that found refuge at his acreage have since either found other places to stay or decided to make the best of a bad situation by taking the time to explore parts of the province that they otherwise would not have had the opportunity to see were they still working full-time, there were still a couple who remained when he spoke with the Albertan last week.
West said that while they requested some privacy following the turbulent whirlwind of events that turned their lives upside down, they nevertheless wanted to extend their heartfelt gratitude.
“The community really touched these people at the end of the day,” he said.
Among the businesses who unflinchingly offered to help was Savoury Meats. When West walked through their doors with a larger-than-usual order, owners and couple Nathan and Rachel McCullough donated their time and provided chickens, burgers and smokies at cost to fill their bellies.
“(West) was buying a little bit more than what he normally did,” said Nathan, adding once he learned why West was stocking up that he didn’t “bat an eye.”
“Having been with the fire department myself, you understand kind of what they’re going through,” said Nathan.
“Any time there’s hardship, we’re not always thinking of the finer things; we’re not worried about paying our bills or shopping for groceries – we’re just trying to make sure that we have a place to go and everybody’s safe. So, we just did whatever we could do to help,” he said.
“We’ve had the privilege of helping a few different groups of displaced Jasper evacuees,” he said.
“If we can help and you can alleviate a little bit of the stress and the pain that they’re having to deal with, well that’s what we do,” he said.
“Maybe it’s a business standpoint, too. But if you can make somebody feel warm, feel welcome, feel appreciated, they’re going to come back. It may not be tomorrow, it may not be for three months,” he added.
“But eventually, it’ll stand out in their mind and they’ll come back; and those are the people that you want to come back,” he said.
Despite their difficult circumstances, the evacuees all appeared to be in “good spirits,” he later added.
“They don’t seem, on the surface, like they’re bottomed out by any means. There was some good laughs, some good stories; even hearing about the ordeal of the evacuation and what they had to go through, they still say it with a smile,” he said.
“You can see that they’re still in good energy and good spirits,” he said.
“They took it in stride. You know, you make the best of a bad situation – that’s the only thing you can do,” he said.
“I love it. It’s fantastic, they seem like such a great bunch. You got to welcome ’em with open arms,” he said, going onto add followed by laughter, “Hopefully they’ll tell a friend, and we’ll see some more people!”
And since many of the workers don’t have the highest-quality cars, West also said a couple of their vehicles had developed issues with their tires that Integra Tire owners Connie and Jenn Anderson also addressed and waived the bill.
Connie, who also serves on the municipal council, told the Albertan his daughter Jenn had in one instance made arrangements to outright replace at no cost a tire on one vehicle, while on another day he ensured a patch job was dealt with.
“She looked quite surprised when we didn’t charge her for it,” he said.
“They just sat and drank coffee in my office; doesn’t take long to do a flat repair.”
Asked what went through his mind upon hearing their stories, he said, “Hey, I can help these people out, maybe soften the blow a little bit.
“It’s terrible that Jasper burned but any way we can help out, helps them,” he said.
Some of the evacuees were also well received at the Sundre Thrift Shop, which is run by volunteers as a non-profit group with proceeds supporting the Sundre hospital, and West wanted them to know their kindness did not go unnoticed.
Marlene Ross, assistant manager at the thrift shop, was on shift when “a young gentleman and two young women” walked through their doors.
“We were all sad about Jasper so you know, we just helped them out the best we could. They picked up some clothes and they were just told that they could have them,” said Ross.
“We’re here to help; it doesn’t matter where they’re from or who they are. If they are in need, we are here to help,” she said, adding those on shift at the shop at the time empathized with the young people who did not even know if they would have jobs to return to.
“We’re just glad to help out where we can,” she said.
The thrift shop’s manager Joy was also there at the time.
“We just thought that if we can help in any way, we would,” she said, adding the young workers were told “if there was anything that they needed, it was going to be theirs and not to worry about it.
“They were so appreciative, they came back that same day later in the afternoon with a plant and gave it to us,” she said.
“So, we called it Jasper.”
