NORTH BATTLEFORD - North Battleford’s Abrahamson family said their experience with the Jasper fire tragedy was too close to home as their daughter Kate was working as a whitewater rafting guide there and had to evacuate.
Lana Abrahamson said of her experience waiting, “We knew there was fires in area from her. She lived through a similar scare in 2022 and were on notice then, dealing with smoke and everything.”
Kate Abrahamson said she was drawn to Jasper, as having skied there, she always knew she wanted to be a ski instructor in the mountains. It was only supposed to be for six months, however she fell in love with the community and the location’s beauty and decided to stay on for the summer, which has continued on for several years.
Kate’s response on evacuation notice was “Oh, no, not again. “
Mom Lana said they were grateful that their daughter contacted them right away with a text no parent wants to receive, “Mom, I don’t want to scare you but…..”
Lana said Kate kept them up to date on their entire evacuation until they were safely somewhere to grab a few hours rest, in a time frame from the first text at 8:40 p.m. to the ‘we are safe’ confirmation at 3:30 a.m.
“I kept texting her reminding her not to forget to take this and that. Her and her boyfriend had a small car that would have to hold three people on the trek out, so she only took what was near and dear to her. A big realization for Kate is “what did she leave behind that she should have taken?”
Lana affirms they did not get a lot of sleep that night. Cell service was spotty but thankfully some texts were going through however, knowing everyone was doing the same thing that was likely overwhelming the system was unnerving.
Understandably from the first evacuation order received over their phone, it caused some anxiety as the happiness factor of being in a job you love, living an adventure style life in one of Canada’s most beautiful locations quickly changed to fear of the unknown.
“Normally Kate could share her location but that was not working which made things a little scary but I knew she would let me know. As soon as she got to highway just after midnight, we felt a miniscule sense of relief.
The harrowing trek, that covered only about 100 km, took five hours as the road was gridlocked with all other evacuees.
The family is thankful that Kate and her travelling partners got safety settled at a former guiding staff’s place up the road for the first night. They continued on to Valemont, which was overrun with people fleeing the fire so Kate and company continued onto Clearwater and stayed with a rafting company there, who had reached out to them. Interior Whitewater Expeditions, Abrahamson said, were amazing to Kate and group, giving them access to Wi-Fi, showers and anything else they needed, allowing them to set up a small tent city.
Kate Abrahamson adds, “It is hard to process right now. You can be as prepared as you think you can be but I don’t consider myself a prime example of being prepared as I don’t even have a towel or a t-shirt right now. I wish I had a list of things I could have or should have had. It didn’t even cross my mind that Jasper townsite would get hit and I thought I would be back in a few days.”
With Kate working winter season at Marmot Basin for four years now, and the summer for a rafting company for the last three years, one of the hardest parts of their work experiences is saying goodbye at the end of each season. Now they are adding in the emotional processing of not knowing what is next, they’ve lost their jobs, they have lost their homes and all of their belongings, as well as losing a life and adventure they have been happily living in.
Evacuees like Kate have so much uncertainty right now as updates have been few and they while they have heard some properties have been saved, Kate doesn’t know if hers is one of them, although is fairly confident it was decimated by the massive fire.
Lana said, “The group is going to stay together for a bit at a home of family friend on the Sunshine Coast and haven’t decided where they go next and when that next phase will take place. They are trying to wait until they know for sure before proceeding with plans moving forward.”
“As parents, we have to remind them to be frugal and wise, but them being together is a relief and a gift and I think it’s going to help them with grief. We would just like her home but know that this is the best thing for her right now, to be with that support.”
Lana is a volunteer with Scouts Canada at the Anglin Lake Semi-Wilderness Scout Camp, and said she, herself, has never experienced anything like this.
“You plan, but you hope you never experience it.”
However, Lana, said they experienced similar stressful situation in 2015 when their son, then 18, was on a canoe course up north at Churchill River Outfitters at Missinipe, and forest fires forced their group to hunker down, unable to get out as fire was on both sides of the road.
“That was pretty stressful as there was no cell service up there and at least with Kate we were in continual communication, although at times, cell service was spotty.”
The Abrahamsons have been going to Jasper since their kids were little, adding that Jasper has so many outdoor vibes both winter and summer, and such a great community atmosphere. Many people gravitate there each year for the amazing experiences. Lana said they have such love for this location and, while beyond grateful for their daughter’s safety, their hearts are broken at the loss of Jasper.
“Two of my four kids lived and worked in Jasper in their adventure years.”
Lana adds, “She is our youngest and only girl. We believe that her life experiences as well as skills she gained with the family in scouting and skiing benefited her going through this. Being able to draw on some of that at only 22 years old, navigating through this crisis, makes us proud as parents but the hard part is being strong for them.”
While sounding emotionally and physically exhausted, Kate told the News-Optimist/SaskToday, “I have no idea at present of where to go and I don’t think I have a house to go back to, so I may be back in the Battlefords.”
Kate said there have been no specifics on her property yet but they have received some updates, the last one being at 9:30 p.m. July 24 with a new fire map and estimated size which clearly indicates that it is still very much burning and incredibly large.
“I have had good support from family and friends offering what they can do but it is still so hard to process as I have nothing. And, I have no clue when we will even be able to go back and assess,” adds Kate.
“Half of the group knows their houses are OK so that is how they are going to help, letting those displaced crash on their couch until more things are sorted out.”
A multitude of emotions still to process for the Abrahamson family as they navigate their new normal coming out of this tragedy.
SaskToday.ca and all Harvard Media outlets in Saskatchewan and Alberta are bringing people together for a "Day of Caring" for the victims of the wildfires in Jasper. Wednesday, July 31, we ask you to join us to help the victims of this disaster. You can go to albertadayofcaring.com to make a donation. That website is beginning to take donations as of today. The government of Alberta, and the Federal government will be matching all donations dollar for dollar.
