He ran down to unhook the last pieces of equipment he had been moving. He noticed his back felt hot, and turned to see the fire coming down the hill toward him.He and another neighbour rushed to try to drive up to the highway and escape, but trees had fallen on the road and the smoke was too thick to see much. They turned back, feeling trapped.
They drove down to where it might be safest: beside the river. McMeekin figured if they had to, they could get into the water. "My daughter comes racing in the house and she's screaming. And I'm like, 'what's going on?' And she's like, 'the lawn is on fire!'" Patterson recalled.They bolted for the truck.
But Patterson says the ordeal has left her deeply shaken. She's noticed that she can be unsettled now by unlikely things — the sound of rain, for example, can remind her of falling debris."Once I start thinking about everything, it's very overwhelming. You know, where am I gonna live, where am I gonna stay, what's going to happen."