Butler High School graduate now living in shadow of multiple British Columbia wildfires
For most Butler County residents, the only direct exposure to major wildfires they’ll experience is through smoke occasionally drifting over from Canada and from northern states.
For former Butler County resident Nancy Crerar, née Friedman, who now lives in Vernon, British Columbia, wildfires are a regular occurrence. As of this month, the province is dealing with multiple major wildfires simultaneously, including the Bradley Creek fire, which started July 31 at an Indigenous peoples reservation in Armstrong, British Columbia, and the Bald Range fire, which started Aug. 7 in Summerland.
So far, the two wildfires have led to only one known fatality, an 80-year-old woman who died in the Bald Range wildfire. However, the two fires have combined to burn at least 96 square miles and destroy hundreds of structures.
“It’s our life now. You can’t fight with Mother Nature,” Crerar said.
Before moving to British Columbia, Crerar spent her entire life in Butler County. She graduated from Butler High School in 1965. The granddaughter of Jacob Friedman, founder of the now-closed Friedman’s grocery store chain, Crerar was actively involved in the family business.
Her cross-continent move came in 1977, shortly after she graduated from Penn State University and met her future husband, Norman Crerar, while skiing in Vermont. She ultimately followed Crerar into his ski resort development ventures, which included Sunshine Village in Banff, Alberta, and SilverStar Mountain near Vernon, British Columbia.
“We stayed in the ski industry our whole professional lives,” Crerar said. “We had the opportunity to buy into SilverStar Mountain, and we did that in 1981. It’s in our best interests to keep that resort fire-free.”
Despite having lived on the opposite side of the continent for nearly a half-century, Crerar still keeps Butler County and Western Pennsylvania in her heart.
“Every time I talk about ‘going home,’ it's always going home to Butler,” Crerar said. “It’ll always be part of me.”
Crerar hasn’t lost any property or loved ones, nor has she been forced to evacuate her home during this year’s fires. However, she had a close call during the Bradley Creek fire when embers came close to settling on her property.
“The fires never really hit us, although the embers that were flying from the Bradley Creek Fire were settling at SilverStar Mountain, which is a real big concern for the whole community,” Crerar said. “All it takes is one ember to take off. I think that’s why everybody is so alert whenever these fires happen.”
Since she has lived in British Columbia for decades, this is far from the first year in which Crerar has had to live with the threat of wildfires looming over her. She especially remembers a 2003 wildfire which also struck the Okanagan area of British Columbia, destroying 64,000 acres and 239 structures.
In recent years, she has dealt with that threat in her own way — as a volunteer for FireSmart BC, a British Columbia public information initiative to improve wildfire preparedness.
“I’m a volunteer and I pass the word,” Crerar said. “Everyone around here are volunteers. None of us are hired. We just promote the program.”
“FireSmart” tips Crerar practices every day include removing flammable materials like firewood, pine needles and dead leaves from around her house, and keeping a “go bag” packed containing essential items in case of an evacuation order.
Even for residents of less wildfire-prone regions, the “go bag” could be useful in the event of other natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or earthquakes.
“It has all the most important information in it. Insurance papers, contact papers, that kind of thing. You just can grab it in five minutes’ time,” Crerar said. “Any community could create a ‘go bag’ if you’re in a hurricane or tornado area.”
