Sandra Patterson Lester shares her harrowing story about surviving a wildfire, losing her home and rebuilding.
It has been three weeks since Sandra Patterson Lester pulled into the parking lot of a Peace River, Alta., motel in her red pick-up truck with her tiny chihuahua Gypsy and the clothes on her back. Just about everything else she owns is gone.“I came within in five minutes, maybe four or three of losing everything, my life included.”
“I was zipping up my suitcase and then I heard a ‘woosh!’ and a door slammed from the fire sucking in the oxygen,” she said. “It was ferocious. We thought it was 60 kilometres away. It came with no warning.”N.W.T. wildfires: Wall of flames inch closer to Hay River community Click to share quote on Twitter: "We watched and could hear every place on the property explode or burn up. It was pretty sad that day… We were in shock."
“Unfortunately my brother looked after about 75 per cent of fire in the south Slave area, including Yellowknife, so unfortunately we have no firewood. It’s going to be a real tragedy in Yellowknife,” said Patterson Lester.Courtesy: Sandra Patterson Lester
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