Firefighters, emergency responders who saved Logan Lake leave behind signatures and positive messages

Roughly 150 firefighters, RCMP officers and those who stayed to help save Logan Lake from wildfire have left their physical mark on the community.

A wall at The Country Cafe, a restaurant in Logan Lake, has been lined with positive messages and signatures of everyone who stayed behind to help save the community.

Fire chief Doug Wilson, whose wife owns the restaurant, said the idea came from a private citizen as a way to acknowledge visiting firefighters, police officers and the cooks at the cafe who fed them.

Anyone that was involved has their name on the wall, he said.

Wilson hasn’t signed the wall yet, but the Logan Lake Fire Rescue has a few slogans they’re considering adding.

“We’re probably going to go with ‘anything is possible…’ These firefighters showed up and thought there was no way they were going to save this town with the amount of forest that was around us,” he said.

Last weekend, the Tremont Creek wildfire, burning to the north of the District of Logan Lake, exhibited significant growth to the south and east and the fire’s edge reached the district’s boundary.

Since Logan Lake has been saved, the messages carry even more meaning, Wilson said.

READ MORE: 'It's still there,' Logan Lake mayor passes along message after wildfire reaches town's borders

“We’ve very thankful to each and every one of them that came to our community to help, so we want to be able to recognize these individuals,” he said, adding that there’s roughly 150 signatures so far.

The evacuation order for Logan Lake was downgraded to an alert earlier this week, allowing residents to return home.

Officials said Logan Lake's FireSmart Community status, one of the first in Canada, played a part in saving the community from wildfire. No structures were lost in the town.

READ MORE: More falls, serious incidents happening as B.C. wildfire crews become fatigued

Residents have been very appreciative of emergency responders as they've been travelling back into the town, Wilson said.

"All the locals are back into their routine and have been in (the cafe) this morning getting their coffee," he said.

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