Leigh Ann Biety and her family can finally relax after arriving CanmoreAlberta, Saturday. They lost almost everything they owned after the rapid movement Eaton’s Fire destroyed their home in Altadena, California.
Leigh Ann, who grew up in Edmonton but moved to Los Angeles to pursue a film career, says the flames were barely visible at first.
“I just noticed out the window, just the tiniest flicker of light,” Leigh Ann told Global News. “It could have been like a candle on a cake.”
Denton Biety, Leigh Ann’s husband, had gone out to buy batteries because the local utility company had cut off power to homes in the neighborhood. By the time he got home, he said, the fire had gotten much closer.
“That little flicker, you know, on the other side of the hill, moved to what’s now roaring in these winds,” he explained.
Leigh Ann and Denton quickly began packing what they could, while Denton’s mother – who was visiting from Florida – kept their two young sons calm.
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From the time they first noticed the fire to the time they got in the car to escape the rapidly approaching wildfire, only 14 minutes had passed.
They chose to drive across town to stay with friends. Other people they knew who lived near them also offered them places to stay, but Denton said he knew that wouldn’t have lasted long.
“They were so nice, they said, ‘Well, come stay with us, we have a suite in the basement,'” Denton said. “Four hours later, their house was gone.”
The Bietys then stayed in a few hotels that housed people who had fled the fires. On site, they were able to sort the donations to stock up on additional clothing.
Leigh Ann said the kindness shown by strangers was sometimes unbelievable. She remembers a woman bringing them a bag full of gifts for their sons after learning it was one of their birthdays recently.
Denton returned to their house a day or two after he left to see what was left – to see if anything had been spared.
“It was still smoking, everything was completely burned,” Denton said, “except for two chimneys that were there.”
Although Leigh Ann moved to Altadena 19 years ago, she and her family return to Canmore regularly, visiting her mother and taking in the sights.
While they wait for things like insurance to be sorted out, they said they intend to return to Altadena once it is safe and they can find suitable housing.
“I think that’s what it’s about. We landed (Saturday), had a good night’s sleep,” Leigh Ann said. “Now we hope to get some sleep and then open our laptops to figure out what’s next.”
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