ATHABASCA — When Sylvia Jonasson and her four sons left a longer-than-usual afternoon at kickboxing on Thursday, Mar. 13, the last thing the family expected to see when returning to their rural Athabasca home was the burning, ashen remains of the house they had called home for the last five years.
“You couldn’t really see anything until you turned onto our road,” said Sylvia. “There was a little puff of smoke and you could see an orange kind of glow through the trees.
“I just started panicking and my hands went numb, and it was just a sinking feeling driving up.”
Despite her state of shock, Sylvia called her husband, working away in Fort McMurray first, then her father to ground her, and 911 shortly after.
“At that point, the house, it was gone,” she said. “There was nothing left but a concrete foundation, there was no walls, no roof, nothing. Everything fell into the basement.”
Crews from Athabasca Boyle, Colinton, and Richmond Park fire halls responded, and although the blaze was contained later in the night, Sylvia and her family’s long road back to normalcy had just begun.
'It still doesn't feel real'
Less than a week after the blaze, Sylvia, her husband Garett Sirdar, and their young boys are taking each day as it comes. Now staying in their travel trailer in a friends heated shop, the family of six is focusing on returning to their regular routines, as much as their new circumstances allow.
“It’s been pretty chaotic. We’re doing pretty good, there’s moments throughout the day where it still doesn’t feel real,” said Sylvia, adding she’s caught herself preparing to cross Hwy 55 towards the airport on her usual route home out of habit.
For Sylvia and Sirdar, their first priority has been their four young sons. Aged three, five, eight, and 11, the boys left their old yard on Mar. 13 with little from their previous life save for the clothes on their backs, but Sylvia said their resilience has been inspiring.
“They are so strong,” she said. “I swear they’re raising mom and dad. They think we’re raising them, but just their sense of humour and how they’ve adapted to this new way of living … their attitudes have been so positive.”
“I’m sure it’s going to be difficult and I’m sure there’s going to be some trauma from it, but we’re a very close family. We’re just thankful that we weren’t home, and there could have been so many different scenarios where we wouldn’t have had this outcome.”
A caring community
Deputy Fire Chief for Athabasca County Travis Krahn said due to the ongoing investigation by fire inspectors, no details on potential causes can be released at this time. And while the family, their cats, and four puppies remain physically unharmed by the event, their questions remain.
“It’s so devastating for our family just to have everything gone and no answers.”
Despite the uncertainty around the fire’s origin, Sylvia and family have no questions about the level of love and support expressed by family, friends, neighbours, and even strangers in the aftermath.
Cochrane-based Janaya Jonasson, Sylvia’s sister-in-law, said hours after receiving photos of the boys in their kickboxing gear, her and husband Nolan were shocked to get a picture of of the charred and still-flaming foundation of Sylvia and Sirdar’s home, the same home Janaya and Nolan visited over Christmas, and played Nerf Gun games with the boys.
“They were all happy in their little outfits, and obviously they had no idea their house was burning down at the same time, it was just crazy,” said Janaya. “After the shock wore off, it was like alright, I’ve got to reach out to her.”
Janaya floated the idea of starting a fundraiser to Sylvia, and although the family had their hesitations at first, the outpouring of text messages, phone calls, and emails solidified the communities desire to help.
In less than seven days, more than $5,000 from 34 donors had been raised through the GoFundMe campaign organized by Janaya. And Sylvia, a resident of the Athabasca and Boyle areas since early adolescence, said the online donation page is only one way in which the community has come through.
“There’s been people that I’ve never even met getting a hold of family and friends,” said Sylvia. In addition to Athabasca assistance in the form of cash, toys, and clothing, Sirdar’s employer donated $10,000 to the family, and his coworkers in Ft. McMurray have started gathering funds for their recovery as well.
“At random points throughout the day, all of a sudden we’ll get an e-transfer, and it’s just really taken some of the weight off of our shoulders.”
Whispering Hills Elementary and Landing Trails Intermediate schools have also stepped up to support the family, such as purchasing new supplies and even funding an extracurricular trip to the ski hill for the oldest boy.
“They went and bought new backpacks and lunch kits and water bottles for the kids, and they’ve been providing lunches for the kids every day,” said Sylvia. “They’ve had therapists in the schools talking to our boys if they want, just so much support for them.”
Janaya said seeing the show of support for the GoFundMe, even from afar, has been a meaningful demonstration of the power of community in times of crisis.
“Honestly it’s just so heartwarming because it’s a variety of people pitching in. It’s so cool to go on there and see all the names. All of these people that see it, they hear the story and then they instantly want to give.”
Even community organizations like the Boyle quilting club have reached out with offers to make the boys new blankets, and Janaya said she too is fielding individual requests to donate directly to the family.
“I knew that would happen, because I know Athabasca and I know how good the people are, but it just makes my heart happy to know that even though we’re not there and we can’t necessarily give physical support, they know that we are rooting for them.”
Sylvia said the money received will be going directly to replacing beds for the boys and finding a new home while the rest of the school year wraps up. While the family is looking for options in the Athabasca area, Sylvia said where they settle next will be dependent on housing, but the focus for now is getting through the immediate aftermath.
“It’s so overwhelming to think about the future right now when we’re trying to deal with the current situation.”
Even in the midst of the instability and unpredictability of life after the fire, Sylvia, Sirdar and their sons expressed their gratitude to members of their community for being a safety net in a time of unimaginable loss.
“I need to let everybody know how much it means to us to have their support and how hard everybody has been working to get us back on our feet. It blows my mind. Garrett and I are so grateful that our little family is so loved by our community.
“It’s unfortunate that it had to be under these circumstances that we feel so much love and so much gratitude to everybody, but it’s made the world of a difference to us.”
