On Canada Day, a group of oil and gas workers went out and cleaned up the mess left behind after the Red Deer Creek fire attracted hundreds of mushroom pickers to the area in 2015.
The fire burned about 33,000 hectares of forest in 2014. In 2015, mushroom pickers from across the province and the country descended on the area to harvest an estimated $150-million in wild mushrooms.
When the pickers left, though, they left behind a right royal mess. The Grizzly Valley ATV club cleaned up part of the mess, and others—hunters, oil and gas or forestry workers—took care of much of the rest. But, according to Tim Croston, president of the ATV club, it’s been a slow process “It’s a long way out there on gravel roads so it’s not an easy task to complete.” Much of the small stuff has been cleaned up, but there were a number of old cars that had broken down—that were abandoned and left to rust.
Over the years, there’s been plenty of discussion on how to clean up the mess, including by the Geopark, but the funds and/or equipment never was in place.
But on Canada Day, a group of oil and gas workers, spearheaded by CNRL, helped finish the job. “CNRL was doing some work in the area and had some empty trucks heading out,” says Croston. “The CNRL foreman asked Pavlis Trucking from Dawson Creek to stop at this site and haul out what they could.”
Oil and gas worker and podcaster Kevin Willeboordse was a part of the clean-up. “I’ve worked in the Ojay field for years and felt frustrated seeing the mess sitting there over the years,” he says. “I’m proud to have been a part of the clean-up in some small way.”
In addition to Pavlis Trucking (crew: Rick Pavlis, Ferrol Anne Pavlis, Dave Shirley, Tom Augier) and CNRL (Jim Jung and Mike Sabourin), the cleanup was also assisted by Maverick Trucking (Boyd Nicholson & Nicole Guggisverg).
Willeboordse says he’s happy to see this eyesore get cleaned up.
According to Croston, these were the last four vehicles that needed to be cleaned up after the mushroom pickers.
Of course, people are still abandoning vehicles in the backcountry, including a Red Explorer near the Bootski Lake Trailhead and a motorhome near the trailhead for Wapiti Lake. Croston says he is planning on going out to clean up the vehicle near Bootski when he returns from holidays, though the motorhome will not fit on the club’s flatbed trailer.
To help with cleaning up the backcountry, contact the Grizzly Valley ATV club through their Facebook page, or email the paper.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
