Golden, B.C., residents recount 'harrowing' wildfire experience

B.C. resident Stewart Eldridge felt like he was in a war zone.

Eldridge, who lives just outside of Golden in the Kootenay region, works for an Airbnb property management company. On Wednesday, he had just started eating dinner when he received a text requesting he help his boss with fire preparation at oneof the company's units located south of the town. Within 15 minutes of being there, he saw the advancing Dogtooth FSR wildfire.

"We literally watched the entire mountainside just lit on fire," he told CBC's Radio West.

As they fled, Eldridge said the heat felt like it was climbing five degrees every five minutes. He now considers himself lucky that his truck's tires didn't melt into the asphalt.

Still, as Eldridge and his boss drove north on Highway 95, he said they decided tostop and help a horse get off a field near Canadian TimberframesLtd., an industrial sitearound 20 kilometres south of Golden. But the fire was hot on their track.

It also jumped the highway.

"[Firefighters] were screaming at us, they were like 'evacuate now, evacuate now!'" Eldridge said. "I've never been through anything like that in my life."

Discovered on July 22, the Dogtooth blaze is one of five wildfires in the province that are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS). It's suspectedto have been caused by lightning and measured54.45 square kilometres as of Friday afternoon.

On Wednesday night, the fire forced authorities to evacuate around 100 properties south of Golden andclosed the highway in both directions between the town and Radium Hot Springs.

The fire also destroyed six homes near the town, according to Golden Mayor Ron Oszust.

"It was like Armageddon," said Brian Harris, fire chief of Nicholson, a community around sevenkilometres south of the town. He said hisdepartment was responding to the blazeinthe Canadian Timberframes area. "The sky was just black. The winds were howling."

Since then, local officials said the conditions have improved thanks to some rain and cooling weather.

By Thursday afternoon, Golden haddowngraded the evacuation order for some properties on the east side of Highway 95 to an alert. The highway has also reopened.

"We're pleased with the change of weather to help us with this fire," Karen Cathcart told CBC's Radio West. She's the director of Electoral Area A, which covers the rural area surrounding Golden.

The evacuation order continues for certain properties on the west side of the highway. In Parson, for instance, 28 properties are still under an evacuation order, according toCathcart.

LISTEN | Mayor talks about the fast moving wildfire threatening his Goldencommunity:

Radio West9:38A fast moving wildfire burning south of Golden forced people living on 100 properties in the Parson area to flee their homes on Wednesday

A fast moving wildfire burning south of Golden forced people living on 100 properties in the Parson area to flee their homes on Wednesday

A long list of properties also remain on alert.

Sarah Osadetz, a Golden resident who is under the alert, said she was watching the fire from the outskirts of town Wednesday night. At first, she said she felt a sense of denial but then the dread set in. Since then, she has parlayed that anxiety into packing her belongings as well as encouraging dozens of others to also be prepared.

"I've been canvassing, going to different places, saying 'Are you packed? What are you doing? Where are you planning on going?" Osadetz said.

"I'm really going to take it day by day."

Eldridge similarly highlighted this sense of community as he witnessed residents helping each other and animals Wednesday night, adding thathe later learnedthe horse he tried to help is safe.

He called this camaraderiea "bright spot" amid a scary experience that didn't fully hit him until after he got home.

"I definitely had a cry last night," Eldridge said. "I hugged my dog."