Nolan Haukeness has a hard time believing that May 3 marked the one-year anniversary of the wildfires that swept through Fort McMurray and destroyed his family鈥檚 home.
The former Estevan reflected on the anniversary in an interview with the Mercury on May 4. He and his wife, Jenine, lost their duplex home in the Abasand subdivision in the wildfire last year.
All they carried from the duplex were a few bags, their prescriptions, the deed to the duplex, their dog and their car. Eventually they had to leave their vehicle behind, and escape with just prescriptions, the dog and the deed to the home.
A few days after the fire, they arrived in Estevan, driving a vehicle they borrowed from a neighbour.
The couple spent most of the next two months living in the Energy City. They returned to the Alberta city in late June, and they are temporarily renting a property in the Thickwood subdivision.
Their daughter, Aiden, was born in September. Raising their daughter has occupied a lot of their time, and they are also waiting for their new duplex to be constructed.
鈥淲e just got our building permit approved last week, so hopefully we begin digging next week,鈥� said Haukeness. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the hope, anyways, and that鈥檚 the commitment that鈥檚 been made to us.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been rather busy, which is probably good, because then you don鈥檛 have time to sit around and think about everything that has been going on, and you鈥檙e not focusing so much on things that you can鈥檛 control, like that building process.鈥�
They have some great landlords who have been very understanding of their situation, he said. When their one-year lease expires next month, they will be renting the property on a monthly basis until they get an occupancy date for their new home.
The building process has been slow, but probably moved as quickly as possible, Haukeness said. They have to go through the bureaucratic and the building permit processes.
鈥淲e were supposed to start building on February 20. That was the original commitment made to us,鈥� said Haukeness. 鈥淎nd now hopefully we鈥檒l be started by May 20.鈥�
It鈥檚 been frustrating, but when he looks back to a year ago, he thought construction on the new home would start in May.
The couple鈥檚 new home will be a duplex, like they had before, and on the same lot. And they will have the same neighbours.
鈥淭here were some question marks as to whether or not that would be happening, so we were very happy to be in that situation, where our neighbours are willing to rebuild with us,鈥� said Haukeness.
And he said it will be a better building, since the duplex they were living in was 40 years old.
鈥淲e鈥檙e probably in a better situation than most around here,鈥� said Haukeness. 鈥淭here are people who had a lot of damage to their houses, but their houses are still standing.
鈥淭hose people are just fighting such a tremendous battle with insurance companies to live in those houses now,鈥� said Haukeness. 鈥淭here are reports of people living in houses that weren鈥檛 remediated properly, and their kids are sick. There鈥檚 a lot of suffering still here.鈥�
There are also people in other areas who started to rebuild their homes, only to be told to stop because of slope stability issues.
鈥淎 lot of the trees that were holding the slope together have burned, so now the slope is deemed unstable, and they might not be able to ever rebuild there, even though they already started the process,鈥� said Haukeness.
Those homes, with their walls and roofs in place, might have to be torn down, and be rebuilt elsewhere, he said.
He鈥檚 glad they will have some of the same neighbours as before, because a lot of friends left the city permanently after the wildfires. Haukeness doesn鈥檛 fault them, because if the unit he was renting burned down, and he received a $40,000 insurance cheque, he might consider going elsewhere, too.
鈥淔or some people, the emotional toll of coming back was too much for them, and they couldn鈥檛 do it,鈥� said Haukeness.
A community gathering was held on May 3 for people to drop by for food, activities, workshops and socializing. Community groups were on hand to speak to victims of the fire.
Another event was held in an Abasand park that night. Sixty per cent of the neighbourhood was destroyed in the fire, and those whose homes were spared organized the social.
鈥淚t was great to be there for that, and to see our neighbours and to chat with people,鈥� said Haukeness. 鈥淎nd it was great to be around people who know exactly what you鈥檙e going through, and know exactly what you went through on May the 3rd. You don鈥檛 have to rehash it a bunch of times.鈥�
It was the first time in a year he had seen the neighbours from across the street who fuelled up his vehicle during the evacuation process. The service station in Abasand had already been evacuated.
鈥淭heir house is actually still standing, although they can鈥檛 live in it yet,鈥� said Haukeness. 鈥淭he remediation work has just begun. It was nice to see them and chat with them and catch up. And thank them. That was a big thing.鈥�
Haukeness has been able to return to his job with the Northern Lights Health Foundation. The hospital was saved from the fire, thanks to the efforts of firefighters.
And the support from friends and family in Estevan has remained strong, he said. People in Fort McMurray are amazed when he tells them about the support they received during their time in the Energy City following the wildfires.
Estevan will always be home, he said, and the experience last year only reinforced his love for this city.
