Wallace Lake The Fire and the rebuilding stages Part 1

A view of the cottages from the lake before the trees and shrubs grew up again

We did get together from time to time for a lunch and to share things

Betty and Jim Dickieson joining us for a beer break

This use to be my truck

The building process has it's ups and downs. Lori and her friends decided to go to town for an ice cream. They hit some loose gravel and ended rolling the truck and writing it off. When I asked about the truck her first words were well what about me you care more for your truck then you do me. I could see she was all right and ever body said they were OK but fathers have to be careful what they say and how they say it at times.

The view from the other side of the finished product

The sod is completed, the young trees planted, the sign is up and the sod is constantly being watered to help with the growth. Notice the canoes on the rack waiting for the crew to head out on their yearly canoe trip. The fire wood is being piled up in the background for use for our winter campers.

The boys having some fun with each other

The staff and the boys play together after a day of a little work and a lot of water skiing

The open door policy, when in the area drop in


We always ensured we had time for the boys to go water skiing, driver of the boat Clyde Richard Van Tassel (deceased)

Every boy that went to camp, if he wanted to, had the chance to get up on skies and I do believe they all did. You could see the smile on their faces as they passed the cottage on their second round as much as to say "look at me I am doing it" and then come back and say when can I go again.

The back yard completed

The holding tank is in place, the sod is layed and the trees planted. We water and wait for it to grow. Now we relax for a few years and enjoy the results of the hard work.

Building up the back area for run off from the rains

The start of the storage shed and workshop

Just Filling the hole for the holding tank by Nick

The stump clearing crew. What a team!

The boys have come over from the boys Camp to give us a hand and their reward for helping was water skiing for the day, needless to say, we didn't accomplish as much as we should have in a day but it was worth it and they certainly showed they cared and wanted to help out where they could.

The completed cabin of Norm & Lynne in 1998, from the neighbours lot

Once the cabin was built the task of planting new trees and landscaping was taken on. A major job as we were running from our jobs and also trying to rebuild. We were also maintaining the boys camp and attempting to keep it operational. No easy task at the time.

Our two contractors that look more like tourists than builders.Yogie and Darren both brothers, a good working crew.

The Cottage Lot front view from the lake

This was a rock base where we hauled in top soil, added 6 or 8 inches on the frontage and then covered it with sod. We then went into the bush where it didn't burn, found some young spruce and planted them hoping that they would grow and they did. We also put a hedge along the side and front to allow for the area to be private from the next lot. Of course this helped my neighbour also.

This is the first building that was built after the fire. Lot 22, Blk 1

It is a lonely little outhouse on the lot that was shared by all. You will notice we cleared the lot laid new sod and started to build our new cabin. Once we cleared the stumps we took on the task ourselves of laying the sod after using the front end loader to level the land and add soil over the sandy areas. The sod had to be watered constantly because of the heat. The water was pumped up from the lake (see hose along side of lot that extended the length of the lot). We were able to stay at the boys camp while we were rebuilding our cabin and we also allowed others to use it while their cottages were being rebuilt. Ours was the first to be rebuilt on the lake and we believe it also encouraged others to rebuild theirs and start over again.

The girls in search of something that can be salvaged. Not a pretty sight.




The results of extentive heat it took its toll

In May of 1987, one of our dry spring days and the forest fire

The fire of the Bissett and Wallace Lake area which destroyed 75 of the cottage area lots, leaving few standing. Above is a picture of Lynne and Lori Van Tassel looking at the remains of the cottage that was recently purchased and renovated by Lynne and Norm and were looking forward to a long summer at the lake. Needless to say their dreams were shattered. This was a long, sad ride back home. There was nothing left except the nails that had fallen in a straight line around where the walls stood. We went on to rebuild as you can see in the following pictures. The positive thing was that the boys camp was saved either by an act of God or by the water bomber that dropped a lot of water on the site.