By Anna Mehler Paperny
TORONTO (Reuters) – The remote Canadian town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay had only a few hours’ notice on Friday before thousands of evacuees from a raging wildfire hundreds of kilometres (miles) away came streaming into the community.
The 7,000 residents of Happy Valley-Goose Bay took the sudden influx in stride, doing their best to make the unexpected guests feel welcome and as comfortable as possible, the mayor said.
The exodus was triggered by a wildfire outside of Labrador City, on Newfoundland-Labrador province’s western border with Quebec, which exploded in size in a single day. The blaze forced about 9,600 people from Labrador City to pack up and leave.
About 3,000 of them drove some 500 km (310 miles) to reach Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the province’s east, Mayor George Andrews said in an interview on Tuesday, effectively increasing the town’s population by more than 40% overnight.
“It’s all hands on deck and everybody’s just contributed and responded selflessly,” Andrews said.
Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the closest Labrador town with the capacity and resources to host this number of evacuees, Andrews said
The 14,000-hectare (34,600-acre) fire remained about four to six km from Labrador City on Tuesday, Premier Andrew Furey told reporters.
Last year was Canada’s worst wildfire season ever, with blazes burning in both the east and west of the country, sending billows of smoke south into the United States. This season has so far not been as bad, but fires have still forced evacuations.
More than 6,300 Labrador City evacuees have registered so far with the Canadian Red Cross, the provincial government said. Some are staying in hotels, some in an RV park, some in a local arena and a YMCA facility. But some have gone elsewhere.
“I’m standing looking at a Tim Hortons that’s full, the parking lot’s full,” Andrews said, referring to Canada’s signature coffee shop. “It’s a busy, busy, busy town right now.”
Community members have been pitching in, Andrews said, offering free kayak rentals, providing meals for temporary residents and organizing activities for children.
But the huge influx of newcomers has also put residents on edge.
As Andrews spoke with Reuters, a fire truck sped past, siren sounding. “That sound makes my stomach sick,” he said. “I’m hoping that’s not going to be anything tragic.”
Andrews is hopeful the weather cooperates and wildfires do not spread to his community, which is about 500 km away from Labrador City.
“This could be us tomorrow,” he said. “I’d like to see it rain until the end of August.
“We are going to get folks home. I don’t know when that is.”
(Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; Editing by Frank McGurty and Sandra Maler)
