EDMONTON – As the St. Louis Blues continue their run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Scottie Upshall’s thoughts have been with his home community of Fort McMurray and the people affected by the wildfires.
On Wednesday, the Blue’s forward posted a letter on The Players’ Tribune explaining the personal impact the wildfires have had on him and his family.
In the letter, Upshall writes that he learned about the extent of the impact of the wildfires as he was getting ready to play one of the biggest games of his career: a game 3 match-up against the Dallas Stars in the second round of the playoffs.
“I started scrolling through Twitter and I saw photos of Fort McMurray. The big pine trees were on fire,” Upshall writes. “The same pine trees we used to ride our mountain bikes through to go play street hockey every day in the summer.”
READ MORE: St. Louis Blues winger Scottie Upshall watches from afar as hometown Fort McMurray burns
Upshall’s mother and three nieces were among the thousands of Fort McMurray residents who had to evacuate the city to escape the fires.
“I just freaked out. I knew my mom was there alone with the girls,” the NHL veteran explains.
“When I got to the arena, I was a mess. I was on my phone during warm-ups, which I never, ever do. I just couldn’t get it out of my head that my mother was at home with three little girls.”
His mother and nieces got out of Fort McMurray safely, but Upshall explains he’ll never forget seeing images of people escaping the city.
“To see videos of people evacuating with black smoke all around and embers hitting their wind shields – like they were literally driving out of hell – and then to think of my nieces, it was mind-blowing.”
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The wildfires have destroyed about 2,400 structures in Fort McMurray and as of Wednesday morning the city continues to be threatened by fire.
Upshall is now using his platform to let people know his home town is much more than a “boomtown that’s all about big business,” as it’s been depicted by some.
“It’s a real community that desperately needs help rebuilding,” Upshall write.
“When you read the words Fort McMurray, I don’t want you to think of oil, I want you to think of real people, like Ms. Jomass. She was the woman who worked the concession stand at Beacon Hill Arena when I was growing up.”
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In his letter, Upshall includes a story about the time residents rallied to help his peewee hockey team raise thousands of dollars for the team’s trip to a Quebec tournament that is among the most highly touted in the world, which the team won.
“Without their kindness and sense of community, we simply could not have raised enough money to go.”
Upshall ends the letter by calling on local businesses and companies to spearhead efforts to rebuild and letting readers know not to “count out my town.”