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“Things started to turn a little worse,” said Gillespie, according to the report.
A request to assist with fire breaks led the crew to move equipment toward a camp site 14 kilometres west, he said. Within 45 minutes, however, the fire had overtaken the area.
Unable to escape by road or air, the group followed pre-established emergency procedures and gathered in a “very barren” area of the camp, taking refuge in a cargo container to shield themselves from the flames and heavy smoke.
“The fire came up and danced literally right around us,” said Gillespie, adding that a few of the cargo containers around where they sat began to catch fire, according to the CBC report.
“I thought we were…