When Jeremy Welch and his family moved out of Maple Ridge just two weeks ago, they thought they were leaving behind ever-rising house prices for a picturesque new home in the Cariboo.
91裸聊视频淚t was a decision to try and make our family a unit that didn91裸聊视频檛 have to have a dual income and daycare,91裸聊视频� Welch said. 91裸聊视频淢um could stay home and take care of the baby and we could have a yard for him to play in.91裸聊视频�
Instead, just days after getting the keys to their new place in 100 Mile House, Jeremy, 38, his wife Darcie, 38, and seven-month-old Riley found themselves evacuating their Elliot Lake Road home.
91裸聊视频淲e took possession on July 1 and, within a few days, the fire started,91裸聊视频� Jeremy said. 91裸聊视频淲e had just started picking out paint colours.91裸聊视频�
Eight days ago, when the Gustafsen wildfire started, it was so small that they couldn91裸聊视频檛 imagine it lasting. As of yesterday, it covered 5,000 hectares.
Firefighters attempting to extinguish the Gustafsen fire when it first started. Max Winkelman photo
91裸聊视频淲e figured, the next day it would be out 91裸聊视频� that they would have it under control,91裸聊视频� Jeremy said.
The first day of the fire 91裸聊视频� when it still seemed innocuous 91裸聊视频� the Welches watched as firefighting planes circled overhead and dropped water on the blaze. Darcie, whose family lived in 100 Mile House and was the reason the Welches chose the town, took Riley and went to stay with her parents.
Jeremy stayed behind, painting and organizing their new home. He woke up the next morning to a wildfire worn down to almost nothing. Darcie planned to return home to help install sprinklers at the house, just in case.
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Then the wind started.
91裸聊视频淚t turned this fire into a raging storm that they have no control of,91裸聊视频� he told Black Press on Tuesday.
Jeremy Welch snapped this photo of his house before leaving 100 Mile House. Jeremy Welch Photo
Conservation officers came by the house and told Jeremy to get out. 91裸聊视频淣ow!91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚 had no time. I grabbed some of our important paperwork and hooked up our cargo trailer.91裸聊视频�
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They thought they91裸聊视频檇 be back in a day.
91裸聊视频淲e didn91裸聊视频檛 take it seriously enough to dig through our boxes to find all our most important things,91裸聊视频� Jeremy said.
The Welches went to stay with Darcie91裸聊视频檚 family in Buffalo Creek.
91裸聊视频淚t was about a 15-minute drive away from the fire. But 15 highway minutes of driving91裸聊视频� so a fair bit.91裸聊视频�
VIDEO: The Welch family relive their escape from 100 Mile House
A fair bit didn91裸聊视频檛 turn out to be far enough. Buffalo Creek was put under an evacuation alert.
91裸聊视频淚t was tough to know what we should do; whether we should stay or whether we should go,91裸聊视频� Jeremy said.
91裸聊视频淚t was really smoky, so with the little guy we didn91裸聊视频檛 know if it would be safe,91裸聊视频� Darcie said. 91裸聊视频淲ith leaving, I was worried that if the highways were closed going out of town, we didn91裸聊视频檛 want to be stuck in the vehicle on the road and a fire pops up.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚t was kind of scary that way. It was so smoky,91裸聊视频� Jeremy said. 91裸聊视频淭he thought that if our escape route, if the information wasn91裸聊视频檛 accurate, and by the time we got there the fires had shifted91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
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They decided to chance leaving.
91裸聊视频淚t seemed so surreal, that we went up there to achieve our dream and it91裸聊视频檚 just gone,91裸聊视频� Darcie said. They got ready in a haze, grabbing their few possessions as well as those of Darcie91裸聊视频檚 parents, who were out in Tofino when the evacuation alert was issued.
91裸聊视频淲e packed up what we could in a frenzy, me with him strapped onto my back because he was being fussy,91裸聊视频� Darcie said. 91裸聊视频淲e were a mess by the time we got out of there.91裸聊视频�
BC Wildfire Service planes fight the Gustafsen fire. Bob Grant Photo
So on the day Riley turned seven months old, the Welches made the harrowing seven-hour drive from Buffalo Creek down to Langley.
Riley didn91裸聊视频檛 seem to mind it too much.
91裸聊视频淲e kept him pretty happy,91裸聊视频� Jeremy said. 91裸聊视频淗e91裸聊视频檚 such a tough little guy.91裸聊视频�
The trio arrived at a friend91裸聊视频檚 house in Langley early Tuesday afternoon 91裸聊视频� just hours before speaking to Black Press. They plan to stay there until the fire dies down and they can return to 100 Mile.
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Jeremy and Darcie are determined to keep up a brave face for Riley. Still, they can91裸聊视频檛 help but agonize over what91裸聊视频檚 left of their new life up north.
91裸聊视频淲e may not have a house. Our house is on the front line of the fire,91裸聊视频� Jeremy said.
91裸聊视频淲e know that no matter what happens, if the house is still there or it91裸聊视频檚 gone, the community is burned out. It91裸聊视频檚 tough to know that91裸聊视频檚 what we91裸聊视频檙e going back to.91裸聊视频�
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