Fort McMurray teen rides horse out from wildfire evacuation

A teenager managed to get her beloved horse to safety asthe wildfires spread towards Fort McMurray earlier this month the only way possible: under saddle, by the side of the highway.

"It was really something. My mind was full of different emotions, Ididn't really know what was going onand just the fact of having to get out, and there was no turning back," recalled Jada Polem, a Grade 11 student at Holy Trinity Catholic High School.

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On May 3, as her family was ordered to evacuate withtens of thousands of others, Polem and her parentsworried about what to do with their three horses.

"We knew that we were going to have a problem, because we only have a two-horse trailer," she said, adding Mya, her quarter-horse, was the most well-trained of the bunch.

"When we were getting ready to load up, Dad was like, 'put the saddle on, you're going to have to take her out.' Iwas like, well, i guess that's my only way out," Polem told CBC Radio's Corner Brook Morning Show.

Ride to safety

As her parents trailered the other horses, Polemrode alongside the traffic, trying to stay calm.

"We definitely got a lot of lookseveryone was looking, like 'holy!'" she said ofthe admittedly unusual sight, even in the midst of an unprecedented evacuation.

As the heat from the flames blazed around them, the equine convoy made it to a safe zone near the city's wastewater treatment plant.

"We got downand we untacked them, because it was 30degree weather, sothey were cooking," said Polem.

As the fires continued to spread, the Polemsand their horses once again moved out of danger andarranged for a friend to trailer all three horses to safety south, where they are now staying on a farm outside Edmonton.

'Home' in Newfoundland

Polemis now not only separated from her horses, but also her parents.

After the evacuation, the family decided thatJadawouldheadto her parents' hometown of Corner Brook to finish off the school year, while her father continued to work in Fort McMurray and her mother stayed near Edmonton.

The family spendssummers in Corner Brook each year, and it seemed a natural fit.

"Alot of friends of mine were going to Edmonton for schooling, but I'd rather go to Newfoundland.It feels more like home. I'd rather be home than be in another new environment," said Polem.

She's settling in and plans to write exams in June, although with the fires continuing to threaten Fort McMurray, what will happen next school year remains uncertain.

"We'll either wait it out down here and see when we can go back, or figure out the plan of action for September."