How a B.C. history buff helped protect a Canadian fur trade fort from wildfire

When a massive wildfire threatened to destroy Canada's largest collection of fur trade era log buildings last summer, Lyle Penner "held the fort" to protect the Fort St. James National Historic Site in north central B.C.

"I made a choice to stay here," recalled the historical interpreter 10 months after the fire. "Some of these  buildings are more than 135 years old. They're irreplaceable."

'Irreplaceable'

The wooden buildings were in harm's way when the massive Shovel Lake fire burned toward Fort St. James during the province's disastrous 2018 fire season.

There was no evacuation order. But as the  flames moved closer, many people from Fort St. James heeded local advice and fled. So did the staff of the historic site. 

Penner stayed behind, along with his boss.

And as thick smoke blanketed the fort, Penner set up a makeshift camp inside the security booth. 

'The smoke would be so thick'

"There were times the smoke would be so thick," he said. "And I would wonder, 'Am I breathing properly?'  You can feel it in your lungs. Could you even see your way out if you had to go?" 

Despite the smoke, Penner stayed on guard.

 "I'm very invested in this place," said Penner, who has worked at the fort for the last 20 summers. "You know [if there's] a spark on the roof ... we were all just left wondering what could happen and how we could protect this place."

'This...fort would stand'

The answer came as he was staying at the fort. A crack fire-fighting unit from Jasper National Park arrived to fire-proof the grounds and build an elaborate sprinkler system.  

Penner said the water system kept every "square inch" of the wooden roofs wet and every blade of grass drenched.

"If this whole town was in trouble, this fort would stand," he said.

Meanwhile, amidst the intensive fire preparations, the occasional tourist continued to show up at the front gate, said Penner.

Tourists continued to visit

"We were surprised to find people coming down the highway, even when they were advised not to," said Penner. "Their desire to persevere in a few cases surprised me. But when you think of people coming from all around the world to see this site and they plan their holiday and suddenly it is in a region that's covered with smoke ..."

Busy with keeping the sprinklers going and drenching the fort twice a day, Penner said he turned visitors away and advised them to "reconsider a visit." 

By early September, the Shovel Lake fire had burned a 920-square-kilometre swathe across northern B.C, destroying an area nine times the size of Vancouver. 

Fire burned swathe 9 times the size of Vancouver

But the flames never touched the Fort St. James National Historic Site. 

The elaborate sprinkler system and the water hoses remain on site, now used for watering the grass and at the ready if fire returns.