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Charles City volunteer works near Canada wildfire: ‘The winds have smoke’

In this October 2015 photo, Stewart Coulson stands outside his tent at the Cal Fire Base Camp in Kelseyville, California, near a fire disaster area where more than 1,500 homes were destroyed. Contributed photo
In this October 2015 photo, Stewart Coulson stands outside his tent at the Cal Fire Base Camp in Kelseyville, California, near a fire disaster area where more than 1,500 homes were destroyed. Contributed photo
By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

After a stretch of volunteering among severe floods in the U.S., Charles City resident Stewart Coulson once again smells smoke in the air — this time in British Columbia, Canada.

“We’re surrounded by smoke. The winds have smoke,” Coulson said of his Red Cross station in the town of 100 Mile House, B.C.

Coulson, a disaster mental health volunteer for the last twelve years with the American Red Cross, got the call on Friday to join other Canadian and American Red Cross volunteers responding to the largest wildfire in British Columbia history.

More than 400 firefighters are attempting to contain the blaze, created after 19 separate wildfires merged into one fast-moving body, the Canadian Press reported Tuesday.

Two and a half million acres have already burned, causing 45,000 people to be evacuated, Coulson said.

“It may be the biggest in Canada ever, but it’s definitely the biggest in British Columbia ever,” Coulson said.

Coulson spent 25 years working as a middle school counselor, and typically encounters instances of shock, grief and depression in his volunteer deployments.

Most recently, he responded to historic flooding in Louisiana in August 2016 and in Texas in July 2016. His last encounter with wildfire was after the blaze had been extinguished in Kelseyville, California, in October 2015.

This time, Coulson and his colleagues need to address evacuees’ needs, as firefighters are still fighting more than 130 kilometers of flames. The initial fire began on July 7.

“Being away from home for a month has zapped them,” Coulson said of the evacuees. “To have to take whatever you can get in your car, because when you return it may not be here. … It’s a traumatic situation with these families.”

Coulson and his colleagues work 10 kilometers away from the front lines of the fire in a curling club facility, which would typically be preparing for curling leagues to begin in a few weeks.

The town is known for and named after its historic role during the gold rush, and usually advertises as a rural tourist destination for horseback riding, cross country skiing and the surrounding lakes.

“Right now it’s basically a safe space,” Coulson said of the sports club, where he and other volunteers serve around 200 people a day seeking cleanup kits and other means of support.

School in the area isn’t scheduled to start until after Labor Day, but college students volunteering with the Red Cross have already been leaving the area, Coulson said. Coulson expects to be in Canada until after Sept. 2.

The Canadian Press reported 135 fires were burning in British Columbia at the beginning of the week. Seven of those fires began within a 24-hour period.

To donate to the American Red Cross disaster relief programs, visit www.redcross.org.

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