U.S. couple recounts harrowing ordeal
Delanos say they are lucky to be alive after they were caught in huge forest fires in northern Saskatchewan en route to meet son on epic canoe adventure in Yellowknife
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, July 24, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A husband and wife from Minnesota were counting their lucky stars and happy to be safe in Yellowknife this week after a very close call with a forest fire earlier this month in northern Saskatchewan.
Minnesota resident Patti Delano, left, and her husband Steve Delano are all smiles this week as they arrive in Yellowknife. The couple had a very close call earlier this month when they were able to tow their trailer out of a campsite in northern Saskatchewan while forest fires raged all around them. The Delanos are in town waiting for their son who is with five other canoeists passing from Louisiana to the Arctic Ocean. - John McFadden/NNSL photo
Minnesota resident Steve Delano who is visiting Yellowknife this week, took this photo earlier this month while he and his wife were driving through a forest fire near La Ronge in Northern Saskatchewan. The Delanos say they are lucky to be alive after fire destroyed RVs in a campground where they had been just the day before. - Photo courtesy of Steve Delano |
Steve and Patti Delano are from Cold Spring, about 110 kilometres north of Minneapolis. They were near La Ronge, Sask., last week as fire and smoke descended on the community forcing thousands to flee their homes.
"It was funny because we left our trailer in a provincial park north of La Ronge and then headed into town. It was really bustling and we thought, 'What a busy place.' We had no idea that the reason everybody was rushing around was because they were getting ready to evacuate the community the next day," said Steve. "We tried to get back to the park to get our trailer out of there but were told by officials with the firefighting crews that we couldn't because forest fires were making it too dangerous."
They returned the next morning but were told it was still too dangerous to drive to their trailer, Steve said.
"Then we returned at noon that day and the officials escorted us back to the campsite with a vehicle and told us we had 45 minutes to get our trailer out of there. We did that and with the escort vehicle drove back to La Ronge which at this point was a ghost town," Steve said.
"It was scary. There was thick, heavy smoke on both sides of the road. We could see and hear the huge water bombers sweeping down."
They were lucky to escape unharmed and with their belongings intact, said Steve.
"We were told that at least two trailers or RVs in the park were destroyed by fire the very next day," Steve said.
The reason the Delanos were in Saskatchewan in the first place is because their son is one of six canoeists paddling from Louisiana to Kugluktuk, Nunavut on the Arctic Ocean. The Delanos are driving the support vehicle, bringing the paddlers food, clothing and medical supplies along the way.
"At two different spots in Saskatchewan, we were not able to meet up with them because of the forest fires. They have a spot device and we have a satellite phone so we were able to eventually rendezvous with them in an area that was not under threat from forest fires."
The paddlers have now reached the Slave River in northern Alberta and are making their way towards Great Slave Lake. They are expected to reach Yellowknife on August 2. Their nine-month journey is taking them on 11 different rivers, through two territories, three provinces, 10 U.S. states and will cover more than 8,000 kilometres.
