Through burning fires and thick choking smoke, 100 Mile House RCMP officers rescued a woman who was surrounded by wild fires near 70 Mile House on May 2, 2009.
Cpl. Jeffrey Pelley and Const. John Grierson [who is now with the Prince George detachment] of the local RCMP detachment were awarded the District Commander Certificate of Appreciation at the North District Awards Ceremony in Prince George on June 7.
Clinton RCMP officer, Const. Steve Schenkveld, was also involved in the rescue, but because the Clinton detachment is in the South East district, his award ceremony will be held in Kamloops.
“We were assisting the Clinton Detachment, and were informed by 9-1-1 that a lady was surrounded by the fires at 70 Mile House,” says Pelley who has been with the RCMP for 11.5 years, with the last three years in 100 Mile House.
“We got there and had to find alternate routes to find the lady.” Noting the roads were closed in both directions and the fire had jumped the highway, he says the woman had tried to bypass the closed roads and find an alternate route to 100 Mile House. She eventually was cornered in a field and couldn’t get out in any direction, he adds, and tried her best she could to describe her location on her cell phone.
The officers had to use back roads to locate her, Pelley says, adding they were thankful a local resident, who knew all the backcountry, came with them. The fire crews couldn’t get to her and neither could the helicopter, he explains.
Noting the fires were burning along the roads and the smoke was so thick in some areas, he says they could hardly see more than five feet in front of their vehicle.
Keeping in contact with an oral communications operator, who was keeping in touch with the woman, the rescuers would hit their siren every five minutes or so.
“We would say, ‘can you hear the sirens? Do they sound closer or further away?’”
Pelley says they located the woman, who was suffering from smoke inhalation, and took her out of the area, but they had to find a different way out since the fires and smoke blocked the way they came in.
Area resident Dennis Southwick will be awarded a certificate during the Third Annual Competitive Driving Event held in 70 Mile House, July 9-10.
