Montney resident appreciative her home is still standing

MONTNEY, B.C. — A Montney resident is appreciative of the firefighters who saved her home from the Stoddart Creek wildfire on Monday.

When the fire was first discovered on Saturday, Chittim and her family thought the fire wouldn’t approach their home, although she had packed a few emergency supplies into her car just in case.

On Monday, when the winds picked up, she was in Fort St. John and was told by a friend, who is a firefighter, that the fire was getting very close to their home.

“My car was still there back with my essential stuff that I wanted to take, so we mad panicked, drove out there,” Chittim said.

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Roadblocks were established, and officials initially hesitated before allowing the family through, according to Chittim.

She estimates that the fire was about 100 metres away from her house.

“I went in, and the lights were out, powers out, and it was dark, and I just grabbed some extra clothes, and we let our horses free and drove away,” Chittim said.

She was sure her house would burn down, but the fire went around the house.

“We have a gas plant on our property, too. It went right around the gas plant. But all the fields behind our house are burnt,” Chittim added.

On Monday night, she said the fire blew right up to the end of their driveway. When her fiance, Kody Crook, returned after the highway reopened, there were four firetrucks in their driveway.

Chittim says seeing all of them out there working to save her home made her family feel a lot better.

On Tuesday, they returned to look at their house, and there were still small fires in the fields, but crews were still keeping an eye on their home.

They also found that their horses were safe and decided to lock the gates again to keep them secure.

Now, she and her family are staying in the Super 8 in Fort St. John until they are allowed to return home.

The Stoddart Creek wildfire is still out of control at approximately 21,455 hectares.

Evacuation orders and alerts remain in effect for the Stoddard Creek and Red Creek wildfires.

For the latest information on wildfires, visit BCWS’s website.