Zeballos, a town besieged by wildfires, got some support on Wednesday from customers at the 7-Eleven on Dogwood Street.
The store accepted donations of cash and foodstuffs to help feed emergency workers who are fighting wildfires directly outside the tiny logging village. Doug John, who is originally from Zeballos, was with his family dropping off fruit and cans of soup when he spoke to the Mirror about the situation in his hometown.
“It’s scary,” said John, a member Ehattesaht First Nation, which is located directly beside Zeballos. “Lots of family up there.”
John said he was glad to see people supporting the firefighting effort with donations. He added that Ehattesaht First Nation had donated food that was meant for the Nuu-chah-nulth Northern Region Games, a sporting event that was planned for Zeballos but cancelled due to the wildfires.
“It’s good to see our community out there coming together,” he said, adding that local residents helped cook for emergency crews. He noted that a cousin living in Nanaimo, who works as a tree faller, had travelled to Zeballos to volunteer with the firefighting effort.
He said that many Zeballos area residents travelled to Campbell River to get away from heavy smoke from the wildfires. He also noted that he has family members in Oclucje, the Nuchatlaht First Nation village affected by another nearby wildfire at Espinose Creek.
His wife Trina said that wildfires were also burning near her community of Kyuquot, which is located north of Zeballos in a remote area accessible by gravel road and boat.
READ MORE: Evacuation order issued for six homes in Zeballos due to ‘risk of falling debris’
READ MORE: On the road to the front lines of the climate crisis
The initiative at 7-Eleven on Wednesday raised $521 in donations from customers. The store also donated 10 per cent of food sales, resulting in a donation of $125 for a grand total of $646.
Several shelves were also filled with foodstuffs and cases of bottled water donated by customers. Store manager Khushwinder Singh said he was pleased with the level of support from the community.
“It was an amazing experience for me and my team to see such great initiative taken by our residents to help the people of Zeballos,” said Singh. He added that he came up with the idea after seeing news about Zeballos in the Mirror.
Singh said he was in contact with the village of Zeballos, and planned to deliver the food personally if necessary, possibly accompanied by an employee.
To sweeten the deal on Wednesday, Singh offered customers a free medium-sized Slurpee in exchange for donations.