CALGARY -- Abram Friesen spent Monday rebuilding shelters for his animals after his family's home near Claresholm, Alta. was levelled by wildfire on Sunday afternoon.
Emergency alerts were issued Sunday with residents in the nearby Village of Carmangay — about 160 kilometres south of Calgary — evacuating with the help of RCMP.
Officials say four homes were destroyed, with three of them being occupied as the 6,500-hectare (15,000 acres) fire approached.
Eight people were treated for smoke inhalation and one person suffered serious burns and was taken to hospital in Calgary. Two patients were also transported to local hospital and later released.
Friesen was back at his property on Monday, a few kilometres east of town, assessing the damage. He lost his home, a guest house, barn and horse stable.
"We loved this property and it was home," said Friesen.
"We were sitting in the house and all of a sudden, one of our daughters said she smelled smoke."
That’s when Friesen jumped in his tractor and tried to salvage his property.
"We saw the cloud coming from the west," he said.
"The cultivator was on the tractor and (I) went around my yard cultivating, hoping the fire would not cross it, but obviously we lost most of our buildings here."
Friesen's animals were displaced by the blaze, but none were harmed.
"Right now we can’t really make decisions because we don’t know what we’re going to do, because we lost everything," he said.
Investigators with the emergency response centre in the Municipal District of Willow Creek #26 are still trying to determine what led to the massive blaze.
Friesen says family and friends have been gracious offering support.
“There was more people around this area who pretty much lost everything and we feel for them as much as other people feel for us,” he said.
As of Monday morning, officials say fire crews from several regions are still out dampening hot spots. It's expected to take some time before the full extent of the damage is known.
Livingstone-Macleod MLA Roger Reid says emergency management crews from several districts and counties were on the front lines fighting the blaze.
"It’s always an intense day when we’ve got a fire down here with the winds that we have," said Reid. "We went down south of town, and saw where it started and it was burning through the grass a lot."
Fire assessments are underway and all downed utilities have since been restored.
An Alberta Emergency Alert issued at 3:15 p.m for residents in the M.D. of Willow Creek ended Sunday evening, with residents being allowed to return to their homes.
