As wildfires continue to rage in British Columbia, residents of Monte Lake returned to see what was left of their homes Saturday after flames from the White Rock Lake fire ravaged the community.
“It used to be a beautiful valley and now it’s a black valley,” resident Robert Hugh said.
It’s believed more than two dozen buildings were lost in the small community east of Kamloops.
As the fire approached, many homeowners, including Hugh, did their best to save their property.
“There were flames here. I started fighting them, but it was just like this wind tornado came in and started flying debris,” he said.
“I tried to battle it off, but I couldn’t save the place.”
His home was levelled by the fire. Among the items lost to the flames was his prized Wayne Gretzky rookie card.
When an evacuation order was issued, Hugh left the card behind in a fireproof safe, thinking the six-month-old box would protect the prized collectible.
It didn’t.
“I got to enjoy Wayne for many, many years. Some things we just don’t get rid of in our lives up until we’re forced to,” he said. “Poor Wayne. He got burned up.”
Hugh had the card with him for 25 years, and also had a number of opportunities to sell it, he said.
Earlier this year, a 1979 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky rookie card was sold to an anonymous buyer for $4.69 million, though Hugh’s card likely wouldn’t have fetched that sum.
“Well, it wasn’t in that good a condition, but you know it was certainly worth a lot more than I thought it was worth at one time,” Hugh said with a chuckle.
He is hoping he can get back the $400 he paid for the box.
The couple was happy with the government’s response when a wildfire threatened the community in 2017. They characterized the province’s response this year as paternalistic, saying residents were not allowed to stay and help battle the fires.
“And we’re like, ‘No, not right at the moment. We’re going to gather our stuff. They immediately told me, ‘Well, have you notified your next of kin? Tell them your dentist so they can identify your dental records.’ That’s not how you warn people. That was so unprofessional.”
Amid loss and frustration, Maisonneuve is starting to look to the future.
“Now we can see where we can rebuild and make it better,” she said.
— With files from Emad Agahi and The Canadian Press