Latest news with #MilestoneEnvironmental
CBC
10-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
'I didn't think I was gonna make it,' says Brandon construction worker who survived northern Ontario wildfire
Manitoba man recounts harrowing escape from northwestern Ontario wildfire 4 hours ago Duration 1:58 Social Sharing A construction worker who huddled with his crew inside a smoky shipping container as a northern Ontario wildfire encircled them said he's happy to be alive and back home with his family in Brandon, about 215 kilometres west of Winnipeg. The 19-person crew, made up of employees from Sigfusson Northern, a Winnipeg-based construction company, and Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc., a contracting and construction company with headquarters in Langley, about 50 kilometres southeast of Vancouver, had been working at a job site for a project near Sandy Lake First Nation, a fly-in community located about 600 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay. Every worker in the crew, except for one, was from Manitoba. As the work day began, Carl Genaille told his co-workers he was worried that the Red Lake 12 wildfire was getting close to their camp. That fire was more than 156,000 hectares in size and was still out of control, according to Ontario's wildfire map on Monday night. "I told them this fire is gonna be here real quick because I could see the smoke was really black and then orange and it was mixed together," Genaille said in an interview with CBC News on Monday. "The wind was blowing really hard, man, like really hard," he said. The fire was about 40 kilometres from the site early Saturday morning, site superintendent Neal Gillespie told CBC on Saturday night. He said conditions got worse around 9:30 a.m. and the crew began packing up. Genaille, a former firefighter, told his crew they had to leave. Then the fire closed in. "We had nowhere to go in that camp area and the fire burned right around it, full blast," he said. He tried to get away from the fire by sheltering in a shipping container, and the rest of the crew followed him inside. The sea can was filled with thick smoke, but the fire outside was worse, he said. In a terrifying video posted to social media by his daughter Anika, Genaille can be heard telling co-workers to be careful as orange, tree-height flames roared just metres away. Construction workers trapped by wildfire take shelter in a shipping container 1 day ago Duration 0:19 A crew working near Sandy Lake in northwestern Ontario was surrounded by wildfire on June 7. After helicopters couldn't see them or land due to the thick smoke, they used the main road to drive out to safety. "I was scared and I didn't think I was gonna make it," he said. "But I just accepted it and started helping out the guys and calming them down." Genaille said his past firefighter training kicked in and he put water on some blankets and got his colleagues to put them over their heads so they could breathe more easily. "[I was] just thinking about my family, my kids," he said. "I was just telling them I love them." 'I thought I was gonna lose my dad to that fire' Back home in Brandon, his daughter Anika Genaille said she feared for the worst as she received harrowing videos from her father's job site. "After that one video and he said he was scared, I just burst into tears. I couldn't stop crying because I never heard my dad say he was scared before," she said. At 37 weeks pregnant, Anika said she feared the extreme stress might have sent her into labour. "I thought I was gonna lose my dad to that fire." She said her dad and his crew should have never been in that situation to begin with, and she's angry they weren't rescued sooner. "I'm glad they decided to leave when they did, otherwise they would have burned in that sea can," she said. Superintendent Gillespie said there were several attempts to get the crew out by helicopter, but that the smoke was too thick for pilots to find them. About four or five hours later, some of the smoke cleared and there was a window of opportunity to drive out of the camp and head to Sandy Lake First Nation, whose project the crew was working on. "We got out of there just in time, but we should have been out of there like first thing in the morning or two days earlier," Carl Genaille said. Courage and remarkable professionalism In a statement emailed to CBC News on Sunday, Sigfusson Northern said it sent the planes that picked up the crew from Sandy Lake First Nation and took them back to Winnipeg on Saturday night. The staff showed "remarkable professionalism, courage, and calm response," Sigfusson said, adding that the company's emergency and safety protocols were "critical" in this wildfire situation. It said it is providing counselling and wellness services to affected team members. In an email to CBC News, Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. declined an interview, saying it is focusing on "the safety and security of the team, the community, and all those connected to our work." In a statement posted to Facebook on Monday morning, the company said all of its employees were safely evacuated from the site. Milestone said mental health and wellness resources are available for affected staff members. The social media post said the company is "actively exploring" ways to support Sandy Lake First Nation and other Indigenous partners. 'I'm just happy he's back in Brandon' Genaille's family was waiting for him at the airport when he arrived. He said he was shaken by the experience but happy to be home with his children. "My baby girl just came running to me and just jumped in my arms with a big smile," he said. Anika said: "I felt so relieved and happy to see his face, because I honestly thought I was never gonna see him again. "I'm just happy he's back in Brandon."
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Construction workers safe after huddling in shipping container as wildfire raged around them
The superintendent of a construction crew that sheltered in a shipping container as an out of control wildfire closed in around them says they're lucky to be alive. The 19-person crew — with all but one hailing from communities across Manitoba — had been working at a job site near Sandy Lake in northwestern Ontario. The site included workers from Sigfusson Northern and Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. who were doing a project for Sandy Lake First Nation. Terrifying video posted to social media shows the massive flames and smoke leaping above the treeline against a red sky, just metres from where the group was huddled. "I thought we're going to perish, actually," said Neal Gillespie, who works with Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. Gillespie said the fire was about 40 kilometres away when the work day began on Saturday morning. The fire was quite a bit closer around 9:30 a.m. and the crew began packing up some of the gear in case they had to flee. "Things started to turn a little worse," he said. He said someone from Sandy Lake First Nation called them about putting in fire breaks, so they gathered some equipment together and moved toward a work camp 14 kilometres to the west. "As soon as we start getting our gear out there, within the next 45 minutes, that's how quick the fire jumped on top of us," he said. He said the group had to abandon their equipment, and gather together inside the 'very barren' camp area, following the emergency planning they'd been doing for weeks. They used the cargo container to get away from the flames and heavy smoke. "The fire came up and danced literally right around us," said Gillespie, adding that a few of the cargo containers around where they sat started to catch fire. "I thought we were going to perish actually. It wasn't good." They decided to flee the shipping container, and when they got out, part of it caught on fire as well. There were several attempts to get the crew out by helicopter but the smoke was too thick to find them or land, Gillespie said. "We had three Hueys [helicopters] come above our position, trying to locate us," he said, adding the smoke made visibility challenging. "They could locate the co-ordinates but they couldn't locate the camp itself," he said. After four or five hours and unsuccessful rescue attempts, Gillespie said the crew 'successfully' drove in a convoy to Sandy Lake First Nation along one of the area's main roads. "The towns [are] on very high alert. There's planes coming back and forth here like you wouldn't believe. And there's helicopters flying out here so it's quite bananas here right now." When Gillespie spoke to CBC news just before 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, he said nine workers had already left the First Nation in a Winnipeg-bound plane. The next plane taking the other half of the crew back to Manitoba arrived shortly after that. "Our crew is safe and sound," Gillespie said. As of Saturday night, the Red Lake 12 fire was more than 150,000 hectares in size and was still out of control, a provincial spokesperson said. "We woke up to just an orange sky with ashes flowing all over the place," Sandy Lake First Nation Chief Delores Kakegamic told CBC News on Saturday. Anevacuation order was issued for the First Nation on Saturday afternoon, with about 1,700 members being flown out as priority evacuees, Kakegamic said. She said they are headed to the airport in Red Lake, where they will be sent to either Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Toronto, or possibly Niagara. Kakegamic said a few members of the construction crew seemed "really traumatized" when they arrived at the First Nation on Saturday. On Sunday morning, Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X that Canadian Armed Forces aircraft and personnel have been deployed to support the "emergency airlift evacuations around Sandy Lake First Nation." Ontario fire information officer Alison Lake, who oversees communications for the Red Lake 12 wildfire, confirmed that all 19 workers are safe and have been accounted for. CBC News has reached out to Sigfusson Northern and Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. but did not receive a response in time for publication. However, Sigfussonposted a statement to Facebook on Saturday night confirming its site had been affected by wildfire. "Our crews showed an extreme level of professionalism and courage in the face of a rapidly changing situation," the company's post said. "We are thankful that our crews are now out of harm's way and on their way home to their families." Gillespie said with every site they'd gone to in the past few weeks, they'd developed and practised a protocol for what to do in case of needing to evacuate due to wildfire. "What we did, what we trained for, what we had in place worked right to a T and probably saved our lives." Find the latest wildfire information at these sources: Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
CBC
08-06-2025
- General
- CBC
'I thought we were going to perish': Construction workers safe after wildfire closed in around them
Social Sharing The superintendent of a construction crew that sheltered in a shipping container as an out of control wildfire closed in around them says they're lucky to be alive. The 19-person crew — with all but one hailing from communities across Manitoba —- had been working at a job site near Sandy Lake in northwestern Ontario. The site included workers from Sigfusson Northern and Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. who were doing a project for Sandy Lake First Nation. Terrifying video posted to social media shows the massive flames and smoke leaping above the treeline against a red sky, just meters from where the group was huddled. "I thought we're going to perish, actually," said Neal Gillespie, who works with Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. Gillespie said the fire was about 40 kilometres away when the work day began on Saturday morning. The fire was quite a bit closer around 9:30 a.m. and the crew began packing up some of the gear in case they had to flee. "Things started to turn a little worse," he said. He said someone from Sandy Lake First Nation called them about putting in fire breaks, so they gathered some equipment together and moved toward a work camp 14 kilometres to the west. "As soon as we start getting our gear out there, within the next 45 minutes, that's how quick the fire jumped on top of us," he said. Construction workers trapped by wildfire take shelter in a shipping container 34 minutes ago Duration 0:19 A crew working near Sandy Lake in northwestern Ontario was surrounded by wildfire on June 7. After helicopters couldn't see them or land due to the thick smoke, they used the main road to drive out to safety. He said the group had to abandon their equipment, and gather together inside the 'very barren' camp area, following the emergency planning they'd been doing for weeks. They used the cargo container to get away from the flames and heavy smoke. "The fire came up and danced literally right around us," said Gillespie, adding that a few of the cargo containers around where they sat started to catch fire. "I thought we were going to perish actually. It wasn't good." They decided to flee the shipping container, and when they got out, part of it caught on fire as well There were several attempts to get the crew out by helicopter but the smoke was too thick to find them or land, Gillespie said. "We had three Hueys [helicopters] come above our position, trying to locate us, it was that much smoke that they couldn't locate us." "They could locate the coordinates but they couldn't locate the camp itself," he said. After four or five hours and unsuccessful rescue attempts, Gillespie said the crew 'successfully' drove in a convoy to Sandy Lake First Nation along one of the area's main roads. "The towns [are] on very high alert. There's planes coming back and forth here like you wouldn't believe. And there's helicopters flying out here so it's quite bananas here right now." When Gillespie spoke to CBC news just before 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, he said nine workers had already left the First Nation in a Winnipeg-bound plane. The next plane taking the other half of the crew back to Manitoba arrived shortly after that. "Our crew is safe and sound," Gillespie said. Crews 'really traumatized': Chief As of Saturday night, the Red Lake 12 fire was more than 150,000 hectares in size and is still out of control, a provincial spokesperson said. "We woke up to just an orange sky with ashes flowing all over the place," Sandy Lake First Nation Chief Delores Kakegamic told CBC News on Saturday. An evacuation order was issued for the First Nation on Saturday afternoon, with about 1,700 members being flown out as priority evacuees, Kakegamic said. She said they are headed to the airport in Red Lake, where they will be sent to either Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Toronto, or possibly Niagara. Kakegamic said a few members of the construction crew seemed "really traumatized" when they arrived at the First Nation on Saturday. Ontario fire information officer Alison Lake, who oversees communications for the Red Lake 12 wildfire, confirmed that all 19 workers are safe and have been accounted for. CBC News has reached out to Sigfusson Northern and Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. but did not receive a response in time for publication. However, Sigfusson posted a statement to Facebook on Saturday night confirming its site had been affected by wildfire. "Our crews showed an extreme level of professionalism and courage in the face of a rapidly changing situation," the company's post said. "We are thankful that our crews are now out of harm's way and on their way home to their families." Gillespie said with every site they'd gone to in the past few weeks, they'd developed and practiced a protocol for what to do in case of needing to evacuate due to wildfire. "What we did, what we trained for, what we had in place worked right to a T and probably saved our lives."
