Northeast B.C. man looks to pick up the pieces after Pocket Knife Creek wildfire destroys his home

CBC

7 days ago

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A man in northeastern B.C. is picking up the pieces and looking to rebuild after a wildfire destroyed his home.
The Pocket Knife Creek wildfire is now classified by the B.C. Wildfire Service as "being held," but not before flames ripped through Chuck Ashdown's home south of Fort Nelson, B.C., more than 1,500 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, earlier this month.
Ashdown, who has lived in the Fort Nelson area all of his life, posted photos of the burned remains of his home on social media.
"The Pocketknife Fire got me," the message said. "Lost my home, but everyone is safe."
He told CBC's Radio West that he left his home with his mother on June 8 prior to an evacuation order related to the fire, which had grown to more than 600 square kilometres in size.
He said he started driving when it was daylight and "the smoke got so bad it was pitch dark."
He said he could see flames moving eastward in the direction of his house.
Ashdown travelled to Fort Nelson to drop off his mother, then headed back home to gather his belongings.
By that time, he said, the fire had crossed the highway and eventually blocked the access road to his cabin.
He said smoky conditions prevented him from returning to the property until June 14.
"The heart sank, that's for sure," he said, remembering his reaction when he saw the charred wreckage of his house, a shower house, and two wood sheds.
He was thankful, however, that not everything was lost, as a tool shed and an old trapper's cabin survived.
"My outhouse didn't get hit, which is always a bonus there, I guess," he said with a laugh.
Lost along with the house were family keepsakes, he said, and all of his clothes.
Ashdown said he's staying with his mother in Fort Nelson and plans to move into the trapper's cabin that survived the fire.
He said his parents first bought the place in 1989. He described it as "heaven on earth," a solar-powered home with an "80-kilometre view from the front steps," two wood stoves, and a satellite TV.
The Pocket Knife Creek wildfire was downgraded last week from a wildfire of note, meaning fires that are highly visible or a threat to communities, to being held following a dump of rain in northeastern B.C.
Similarly, the Summit Lake Wildfire and Kiskatinaw River fire are no longer considered wildfires of note, although the Summit Lake blaze is still labelled as burning out of control.
The B.C. Wildfire Service had said up to 100 millimetres of rain in some areas has significantly reduced wildfire activity, and more wet weather is in the forecast.
Ashdown said wildfires have threatened his home in the past, including the 2023 Donnie Creek wildfire, the largest ever recorded in the province's history.
"This was the fourth time in the last six years that I've been evacuated from that house," he said.
He said he plans to rebuild.
"[There are] just so many memories there," he said. "My dad passed away there, actually. And just so many memories of hunting, trapping, fishing. If I can clean it up and rebuild, I'm definitely going to give it a try."