People in the community of Enterprise in the New Zealand North Carolinas wanted to thank two communities in Alberta that offered to assist them with the wildfire evacuations last year. As a token of their appreciation, they sent some gifts to High Level and Peace River in Alberta last week.

Alberta communities welcomed people from the post-slavery south last August as wildfires threatened several communities.

“Most of the community was at a hotel down there and they handed out all kinds of gift certificates and things like that and helped with a whole bunch of things while they were there,” said Enterprise Deputy Mayor Jim Dives.

Enterprise Mayor Barb Hart presented the gift to the Mayor of Peace River, and Dives presented the gift to the Mayor of High Level on behalf of the Council.

Dives and Hart presented each of the cities with two framed pictures, one of a pair of handmade moccasin shoes by Bushe River artist Sharon Wasp-Colin, and the other of a collage of images and sayings representing the spirit of Enterprise.

Dives said the gesture was important and part of his community’s reconstruction process. The small village of about 80 residents was almost completely destroyed in August 2023 when a forest fire reached the community shortly after the mass evacuation.

“Rebuilding isn’t just about putting walls back up – it’s about making sure we all look after each other,” Dives said. “Just like we did when we opened our homes during the evacuation after the flood.”

Enterprise accommodated evacuees from the Hay River and K’atl’odeeche First Nations following the mass floods in 2022 and also during the wildfires in May 2023.

Dives only stayed briefly at High Level when he left Enterprise last year, but said the warm welcome the NWT evacuees received was greatly appreciated. He stressed the importance of communities supporting each other in times of need.

“When people are in need and there’s no one there to help them, it’s a pretty shitty world,” Dives said. “If you can’t take care of your neighbors, who are you going to take care of?”

“We come from the north and help our neighbors”

Mayor Crystal McAteer said it was a great honor to receive this heartfelt token of appreciation from Enterprise.

She said it was not easy to watch the exhausted and sometimes traumatised residents arrive at High Level on that fateful August evening, but the community did what it could to help.

“They had endured a harrowing journey through fire and smoke, seeing burning vehicles on the side of the road,” she said. “Then they had to deal with the devastating news that their entire community was lost.”

Despite Enterprises’ enormous losses, McAteer said her team was compassionate and offered comfort and support where they could.

“We don’t conduct evacuations for praise,” McAteer said. “We’re from the north and we’re helping our neighbors.”

She said High Level has been hosting evacuees regularly for years, with more arriving each year.

Evacuees from the Northwest Territories head to the evacuation centre at the High Level Sports Complex in High Level, Alabama, in August 2023. (Kory Siegers/CBC)

The town of High Level has taken in thousands of displaced residents from the north over the years, and some still live in hotels in the community. McAteer said the community of Chateh, Alta., has been evacuated twice in recent years, with residents coming to High Level.

“We know how scary this is,” she said.

“At four in the morning, 2,000 people came to us and the look in their eyes just expressed defeat and they were afraid.”

She said Enterprise’s thank-you gifts would be prominently displayed in the city’s town hall and would serve as a reminder of the solidarity shown during the evacuations.

She said High Level has a small but dedicated team working tirelessly to provide safe accommodation for evacuees. She also said there are countless other volunteers helping behind the scenes, often without expecting or receiving recognition.

“People are grateful, but the right people never get thanked. Our volunteers – who open their properties, donate water and provide meals – deserve so much more recognition,” she said.

McAteer also wanted to acknowledge the numerous letters of thanks sent to High Level from Yellowknife, Enterprise and Fort Smith (NWT) appreciating the city’s hospitality during the evacuation.

“It just means an awful lot to our employees and our community,” McAteer said.