NS woman whose home was destroyed in ’08 wildfire says life gets better
By Steve Silva
Global News
Posted May 5, 2016 5:51 pm EST
Updated May 5, 2016 6:17 pm EST
1 min read
This article is more than 7 years old and some information may not be up to date.
WATCH ABOVE: A woman whose home was destroyed in 2008 due to a wildfire in Mineville, N.S., says people affected by the wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., should be hopeful for better days. Global's Steve Silva reports – May 5, 2016
A woman whose home was destroyed in 2008 due to a wildfire in Mineville, N.S., says the experience and what resulted from it was, overall, a more positive experience than a negative one.
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“The people out in Fort [McMurray, Alta.], they’ll get through this, and they’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much people care. And that is still the thing that astonishes me is, just how much people came through for us,” says Victoria Newman-Jones.
Firefighters are currently battling a massive wildfire in Fort McMurray, and the entire community has been evacuated.
In June 2008, a three-day fire in the Mineville area razed 1,900 hectares of forest, forcing the evacuation of 400 homes. At least two homes were destroyed and about a dozen others were damaged.
Newman-Jones says while her home was destroyed, it was the loss of a few precious items she still regrets.
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“The hardest thing [was] there was probably about three per cent of things in the house that I was sick over having lost. Things like my grandmother’s rocking chair,” says Newman-Jones.
Gary Stronach lived next door to Newman-Jones and another family whose home was destroyed. He says he feels guilt.
“It’s really hard to live with the feeling of, ‘Why me? What did I do to deserve this?'” he say.
“It’s just an emotional thing for me that I… I have to keep it. It’s part of the recovery from the fire,” said Gary Stronach of the sign his family created (pictured behind him on the garage wall).
Steve Silva / Global News
The silver lining to the what happened is that both neighbours say it brought them closer together.
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“We became a family united by the fire,” said Stronach.