Ron Peterson got five minutes notice that he and his loved ones had to flee the flames and smoke of the Gustafsen Lake fire.
He knew the danger was approaching, so he had been readying for days. They had little time to load up and drive away, but they were set.
"We had very little choice about what to bring," said Peterson. "We had four of us, and it's a little car."
Peterson was one of the 100-plus people taken in by the College of New Caledonia.
Grant Sopp and Luke Beaubien were two Williams Lake friends who also have their tents pitched on the grass of the CNC campus. Sopp came with his wife, Beaubien had a roommate along for the evacuation ride, plus dogs Midget and Lucy.
"The way we look at it, it's just an unplanned camping trip," Sopp said.
"I was getting ready for days. When we got the word to get out, we just rolled with it," said Beaubien.
They came from Williams Lake and said they had concerns about homes burning in their town, with the double worry about looting going on. They had already heard rumours that thievery was underway.
Peterson said he was less worried about 100 Mile House.
"I heard they brought in 80 RCMP officers from other places to just watch over things," he said. He hadn't heard of any homes burning in his area, but he also had little reliable information. Now that he was set up with a basic living spot in Prince George, he would turn his attention to finding out the available facts.
Sopp and Beaubien said they had called the Red Cross emergency information phone line as instructed but couldn't get through.
They had heard others talk of six to seven hours before the Red Cross was getting back to people, but, like most of this situation, that elicited a mere shrug from them.
"I want to know what's going on, people want information, but I can understand. The call volumes they're dealing with are just huge, and there are so many cities all going through this at once," Sopp said.
"We can't do much about it right now anyway. Might as well just relax," said Beaubien.
The emergency host services have been outstanding, said the Cariboo refugees spoken to by The Citizen. The only difficulty, they agreed unanimously, had nothing to do with the rapid response teams taking in the hundreds of them on a moment's notice.
"The only problem I had was the signs around your city. We had a really hard time finding this place (CNC campus)," said Peterson.
"A few more signs around your city would help. It wasn't easy. Maybe if you live here, you know how to get everywhere so you don't think about it, but if you don't know the area, the signs aren't really clear," said Sopp. "Once we got here - great stuff."
"I had to do a couple of U-turns. My cell phone battery was dead," said Beaubien, so GPS directions were unavailable.
They all agreed on one other point, with a roar of laughter. The emergency response system has covered all their basics, but they sure could use some cold beer.
"Why isn't that right in the rules?" joked Beaubien. "When looking after any evacuations, beer must be standard issue."
On a serious note, Sopp wanted to thank the local volunteers and staff, and gave a special shout-out to the people of Fort McMurray after he heard media reports about residents there rallying in support of B.C. evacuees.
"Those people really went through this, and it's not like they're all back on their feet yet either, but it's sure great to see them stepping up for us after we stepped up for them. That's how it's supposed to go," he added.
The people rolled into town from the burning Cariboo and converged on the College of New Caledonia.
CNC was quickly established by emergency response personnel as the meeting point for those who fled north from the flames of 100 Mile House, Cache Creek, Williams Lake, Soda Creek and the various areas affected by simultaneous wildfires started on the weekend.
Dozens of these forest fire refugees had tents or trailers that were set up for camping on the CNC campus, and cots were set in place in the college's gym for about 100 more.
"A gym facility like CNC's has the space, but there's also a lot of other little things that exist here that become really important in times like this," said City of Prince George spokesman Rob Van Adrichem.
"Change rooms, showers, laundry facilities, storage, ample parking, it's all these extra things that mean so much when a large number of people have to set up in one spot for an indefinite period of time. The bed is just the start, but then there are all these other layers."
Coincidentally, next door to CNC is the Salvation Army. When the Cariboo evacuees checked in at the CNC atrium and filled out their intake forms, those who needed clothing and shoes and other incidentals only had to walk half a block to access it.
"It's been busy in here for a couple of days now. We're happy to help," said the Salvation Army cashier, as unusual numbers of people milled about their thrift store. Those who hadn't filled out the paperwork didn't have far to go to get the forms in order, so stressed tempers didn't flare over any minor inconveniences.
"We talked to an employee who's been here for 22 years and she said she can't ever remember CNC being used this way," said college spokesperson Catherine Hansen McCarthy.
Some of CNC's regularly scheduled programming had to be adjusted to allow the influx of people. What the college also had at the ready was classroom space for volunteers to meet in, playrooms for children, accommodations for pets, etc.
They are the intake point for all the evacuees who came north (Kamloops was the southern intake city), but CNC was not the only roof under which the victims were sleeping.
The Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre was setting up about 200 more cots, and Prince George secondary school was also taking in close to 300 more.
The high school was already closed for summer recess but the sport centre had to turn away its regular public clientele. Prorated refunds were being offered.
"The decision to close the facility to the public and members was made to ensure evacuees have a private, secure place in which they can rest and recover during a very trying time," said UNBC spokesperson Peter James.
"The closure also allows other areas of the facility to be used to support evacuees as the situation unfolds."
Northern Health also had to arrange for special housing during this mass displacement. Patients in fire-affected hospitals and other care facilities also had to be moved to safer spots.
"GR Baker Memorial Hospital in Quesnel and the University Hospital of Northern BC in Prince George have received evacuated patients from Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake," said Northern Health spokesperson Eryn Collins. "As well, more than 100 evacuated residential care and assisted living clients from Williams Lake are being received at various Prince George care facilities.
"Northern Health is also working on developing remote clinics and services at sites such as the College of New Caledonia and University of Northern BC, where evacuees are staying, to attend to any emergent medical needs or concerns they may have."
Collins also stressed the importance of the public being sensitive to the situation and use the emergency rooms at these hospitals for emergencies, but if other healthcare clinics were available for the kind of treatment you might require, please defer to those places.
Families looking for loved ones evacuated from Williams Lake health care facilities should call the Interior Health call line for information, at 1-877-442-2001.
