It’s not what happens to us…

…it’s how we handle what happens to us. The sentiment of this paramount tenet of Les Voyageurs has come to life in the way our two crews have acted since their early exit due to forest fires. On Sunday and Monday two of our first session crews were near a large fire in Ontario and after consulting with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the decision was made to pull them from their trip a few days early. All of the crew members had wonderful trips and are already letting the first three and a half weeks of their trip define their experiences and not letting their story be solely about fires. All the crew members have handled the situation well and the guides of the two crews followed protocols and used their training and decision making skills to lead their crews to safety.

One of the crews had to leave their gear and canoes behind as they were evacuated by helicopter. The fire spread quickly to the area their equipment was left and we are currently unsure of the status. Ontario fire officials will be flying over the gear to see if any of it is salvageable.

Forest fires are unpredictable, but technology has assisted us greatly in this area. Online  maps can show us where fires are and satellite phones allow us to contact our crews. Ground to air radios (which our crews carry) allowed our guides to communicate with aircraft overhead to streamline the evacuation. Both our guides and the Les Voyageur program were complimented on our preparedness and composure by the Ontario Fire unit.

We’re leaving soon to bring up the second session crews and bring home the remaining two crews. The three second session crews have all redone their routes to adjust for the fires.

Follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter as we travel North.  We will include updated photos on the website upon our return.