The saying bad things happen to good people has been proven to be true for a local man helping those in need.
Will MacFarlane gives up his time to help those who have suffered hardship from the wildfires, whether it be evacuees or firefighters, while also providing excellent services for his customers through his two construction companies (AllStar Construction and H&H Services).
"Last year, I donated close to $7,000 (to the wildfire cause)," he tells PrinceGeorgeMatters. "Not including, I put on four barbecues. I bought a couple of barbecues to do all the cooking, bought all the food and fed them. I put on some ball tournaments, just random ball games and stuff like that."
On Sept. 13, close to $90,000 worth of equipment used to deliver donations was stolen. A trailer, excavator and pickup truck went missing from his property sometime between 3:30 and 6 a.m. in the Hart.
"Right now, I work with The Postmen and I do donation trips. I use the truck and trailer to go as far as Burns Lake, Williams Lake and other places to drop stuff off," he says. "Food, clothing, water — anything they need from sprinkler systems to you name it, we take it to them, and we were supposed to do a couple of loads yesterday and woke up to nothing."
A police officer did go out to his residence for a statement; however, there's been no update since.
McFarlane isn't sure if the stolen goods will be dumped or returned.
While he can't personally do his runs for evacuees and firefighters, MacFarlane plans on hiring another person to drive a second truck and trailer.
"It's my responsibility to get those donations out to people, no matter what happens."
MacFarlane is offering a reward for any information that leads to the recovery of the stolen items. (He says he's confident the equipment and property were scoped out before they went missing.)
"I don't even want to know who it is (if it leads to being returned)," he says. "I'd rather be out $2,000 than $90,000."
Cpl. Craig Douglass with the Prince George RCMP confirmed the file has been opened. If you have any information about the theft, call the detachment at 250-561-3300 and quote file number 2018 - 31377.
