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 What's your take Williams Lake?
by LeRae Haynes

What is your take on the fire situation?

“My take on the fires is that it’s sad—this is the first time that we’ve had fires this bad and this close to home,” said Janelle Lamont at Tickled Pink Beauty Bar. “It’s hard because we all know each other and all know people who are faced with losing their homes, farms and animals and their means of supporting their families. 

“It’s also hard for people because we’ve lost our whole summer---people have gone for a long time without seeing the sun, enjoying nice weather or being able to get outside.” 

Janelle said that it has been business as usual for her, even with the fires and the smoke, and that providing a beautiful place where women can relax for an hour is very satisfying.

 What's your take Williams Lake?
by LeRae Haynes

What is your take on the fire situation?

Sandy Fehr at WiseOwl Toys said that one good way to keep your kids happy while they’re safely indoors out of the smoke is to have games, puzzles, construction toys and models for them to enjoy. 

WiseOwl Toys took a load of games, puzzles and toys to the Emergency Services centre at Williams Lake Secondary School and donated them for evacuated kids and families. “Whatever you get for your kids to do indoor right now needs to be open-ended: not something they finish in a couple of minutes,” Sandy said. “Puzzles are great for little ones, older kids, teens and adults and it’s something you can do together. We also just got a dollhouse kit made of real wood that you can put together, furnish and paint.”

(In this photo:  Danielle Visentin)

 What's your take Williams Lake?
By LeRae Haynes

What is your take on the fire situation?

It’s more than ‘business as usual’ for Save On Foods during the fires and days of heavy smoke. Store Manager Mark Law says that it may be a little quieter down the store aisles while some shoppers stay home out from the smoke, but that evacuees have found extra support at the store. 

“We’ve seen a lot of stranded people looking for easy-to-eat foods and we have all that available for them,” he said.

What's your take Williams Lake?
By LeRae Haynes

What is your take on the fire situation? 

The welcome mat is out at Boitanio Mall for shoppers, visitors and evacuees, according to mall manager Jeanette Tuerlings. Daily evacuation orders and alerts are posted in the central court area, and evacuees are welcome to visit with friends, meet for a cool drink and escape from the smoky air outside. 

“We have benches and chairs for sitting and relaxing and if needed, I will open an expanded area for people to hang out,” she said.

 It’s business as usual for shoppers looking for back-to-school bargains such as clothes, gym strip, computers, laptops, hand bags, backpacks, cell phones and mall gift cards, according to Jeanette, who said that with every purchase you can enter to win 10 $50 gift certificates for shops throughout the mall.

What's your take Williams Lake?
By LeRae Haynes

What is your take on the fire situation? 

Sharon Batty from ‘Me and My Bright Ideas’ on 3rd Avenue says that, despite the smoke and fires in the area, it’s business as usual. Keeping the store as cool and comfortable as possible, Sharon welcomes customers to come in and browse her aisles of hand-crafted items made by local venders, and peruse the Regal and Watson catalogues she keeps on hand. 

New in the store are ‘sun-catchers’ which she says will catch the sun, not the smoke, ‘Keep Your Cool’ fans made from colourful and whimsical paper and 11 different framed Stampede Posters. And for crafters who want something to do while they’re indoors away from the smoke, she carries a supply of cross-stitch kits. 

“It’s pretty smoky out there right now, but we have to carry on,” she said. “I’m going to keep business going as usual and I’m going to be here for my customers.”

 Me and My Bright Ideas is located at 29B South 3rd Avenue.

What's your take Williams Lake?
By LeRae Haynes

What is your take on the fire situation? 

“I don’t like all the smoke and fires: it’s bad,” said nine-year-old Faith Frost, pictured here with her two sisters, Gracie and Holly. “My aunt is staying with us right now because she had to leave her house in Soda Creek. The smoke keeps me indoors a lot---we only go out to feed the dogs.” 

She said that, despite the fire and smoke conditions, she has fun with her two sisters indoors. “We play games and do crafts and watch TV,” she explained. “Earlier this summer we went camping at some lakes and I got to go swimming at a friend’s house.” 

“I wish that the smoke would go away so I could go out and play,” said seven-year-old Grace Frost. “I want to go outside and go swimming.”

What's your take Williams Lake?
By LeRae Haynes

What is your take on the fire situation? 

“I can barely see past our tree line, so it doesn’t look good here,” said 13-year-old Megan Law, pictured here with her friend Mackenzie Howse. “The smoke isn’t good for older people and people with health problems---it needs to rain,” she said. 

This is Megan’s first year doing photography for 4-H, although she has done rabbits for many years. “I’m doing rabbit and photography this time, and very excited about the Show and Sale starting on Friday,” she said. “I wanted to try something different this year and have learned a lot about things like lots of settings on a camera.”