When Steven Larabie saw the wildfire crest the ridge near his home just outside of Clinton, B.C., he knew he had to leave.
The owner of Steve’s Towing and Auto Repair has been living there for 12 years and survived the massive Elephant Hill wildfire, which burned more than 1,900 square kilometres of forests, grasslands and properties in the summer of 2017.
Last Friday, Larabie came face-to-face with the massive Pear Lake wildfire.
“It was around about 9:00 in the morning when I got the first call from another person up on Kelly Lake Road and said that the fire was coming down over the ridge in their backyard and they were getting ready to leave,” he told Global News.
By 2:30 p.m., the fire crested the first hill and was moving rapidly toward his home.
“By like 3.30, quarter to four, there was nothing left,” he said.
He had previously told his wife, his daughter and his grandchildren to leave the area while he stayed behind.
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“Then I started moving my equipment, putting it in a field. Hopefully I didn’t lose all my excavators,” Larabie said.
“It didn’t make a difference.”
He said he was able to save about six pieces of equipment, but he lost everything else, including his mini excavator, four excavators and a thousand cars in his auto wrecker, including ICBC’s vehicles, totalling millions of dollars.
“The fire came over the ridge. I’m, like, I got to go,” he said.
He realized he had forgotten to grab his cat, his brother’s ashes, and his daughter’s ashes.
Larabie’s daughter was killed 11 years ago when she was hit by a train while walking home from school in Maple Ridge.
“I went back in the house, but the hydro had already been turned off,” he said.
“So I had to get my cellphone, run back to my truck, grab my phone, turn my camera on and go find it. I managed to grab the shoes that were made for me when my daughter passed away, but I didn’t get anything else, no pictures. I lost everything, everything you can think of.”
He said he was left with his T-shirt, shorts and sandals.
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“That fire came over the ridge and it sounded like two 747 jets were ready to land in my lake. The sound of the decibels were so loud that you couldn’t stand there and the heat, the heat was like intense and the wind was like a tornado,” Larabie added.
“And it was just crazy. I never, ever heard something like that. So I started to leave, trying to get going and I could smell the mud flaps on my truck starting to melt because the heat was so intense.
“And the fire came down, it ripped right through my backyard, wiped out the neighbour’s house, and then it turned and wiped and went just straight through my yard, like just straight down the middle of it. Took everything all the way right down the hill.”
Larabie said others in the area lost their homes.
“When I was leaving, that fire was faster than I was and I was doing a buck thirty out of there and the fire came over the ridge, went through my yard and raked down my main and I was leaving, that fire passed me,” he said.
“By the time I got to Six Mile Lake, which is only three kilometres or so from my house, that fire was already in front of me and on both sides of the highway. And it was literally like little bombs of flames dropping out of the sky.”
THOU SHALT NOT COVET. God works in mysterious ways. All his “real” tow trucks were moved and no family was close to danger. Why don’t we hear how everything that matters is family, instead we hear my money my money. My millions of dollars. Please everyone send me your money. I only have my land and all my metal that didn’t burn.poor me. I need more money. Sounds like someone in a white house, doesn’t it?. Work it Steve.
Couldnt have happened to a better guy. All those years of ripping people off . I’m the guy that was protecting his house during elephant Hill fire. He was gone, he even took the bottled water with him. Left me with a pump, hose and 70 thoulitres of dirty water. You know who I am.. pay your bill, Steve.
If you know him you can relate to this. I believe the finger of God came down from heaven to point out his greed and selfishness. Abusive bully since day one. I believe he had it coming.
Be careful printing stories from a pathological liar, all his tow trucks are parked at roadhouse towing in cache creek. He’s not the saint you say he is . I was his closest neighbor for years. Then he stole from me again.
Totally agree with the comments below. An “alert” is all you need to hear in order to make preparations. I am happy he was able to save some equipment but it seems further preparations during the “alert” is mandatory. It’s a forest fire!!!! Stop blaming everyone else for your lack of planning during the event.
Unfortunately his demand for answers about how a wildfire burned his home is just crazy. Its a wildfire. You hadnt taken any precautions or made a plan to evacuate. Why not take all your heavy equipment and cut fire guards if you think it would have made a difference? It sad people lost so much but accountability starts with you and your actions and inactions
Left with the clothes on his back !!!! No prep work whatsoever mmmm
This guy sat on his rear through days of warnings, didn’t pack up any family keepsakes or make any other preparations and now has the gall to talk about holding the fire service “accountable”. Nope. If you lost everything, after doing nothing, that’s on you.