Evacuee: Home north of La Ronge at the whim of the winds

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Miller said there were convoys of vehicles leaving in 40-minute intervals from La Ronge. It is a lot like following a lead vehicle during road construction, she said.

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“Except it’s a hell of a lot scarier,” she said with a laugh, via telephone during that drive.

Miller operates a convenience store and a resort area of Wadin Bay, 27 kilometres (km) north of La Ronge. The fire is right across from her property, and if westerly winds pick up, she could lose her home, log cabins, and business.

On Monday afternoon,  she said “it’s not gusting to any great strength, but enough to keep us nervous, really nervous.”

“It took us 30 years to build up what we’ve got, and we’re just waiting, it’s dependent on which way the wind blows, whether we’ll have anything left,” Miller said. 

“We live where we work, we work where we live.”

She notes human lives are far more important than property, but ideally “it would definitely be a lovely thing to save all our properties as well.”

Miller has nothing but good things to say about the efforts of Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson. Her social media, organizational efforts, and general communication with the community has been a life-saver, Miller said.

“Without her input, we wouldn’t even have a clue what the hell was going on, which is ridiculous. But thank you Tammy,” she said.

Although she has seen raging wildfires in the past, this one is burning closer to Miller’s property than any other has in her 25 years owning the resort cabins.

“It’s all a part of living in a forest,” she said. Despite that, “it’s the most frightening thing. Very frustrating that there’s nothing we can do.”

She took the basics – passports, wills, books, and an overnight bag – when Wadin Bay was evacuated on Friday with the expectation she’d be in La Ronge for a day or two.

That’s not the case.

“Hopefully all our stuff will still be there when we get back,” Miller said.

claskowski@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk