Fort Simpson home lost to wildfire a place for owner to find healing

Ashley Okrainec spent years saving for, then fixing-up her trailer. It became her safe space in times of need. Okrainec says she is "eternally grateful" for the outpouring of support she seen from her community.

Fort Simpson home lost to wildfire a place for owner to find healing Ashley Okrainec spent years saving for then fixing-up her trailer. It became her 'safe space' in times of need Ashley OKrainec has done a lot of work to heal through the years. She’s learned to navigate an undiagnosed illness that’s left her bedridden for months at a time.

And spent years working on her Fort Simpson trailer that became her safe space. On July 4, OKrainec lost that home to a fire that’s displaced Fort Simpson residents from their community since June 28. “The loss is not just materialistic,” OKrainec said.

“It just hits me at my core.” OKrainec had long aspired to have her own home in her community, and moved toward that goal in sections. In 2015 she bought a lot of land in Fort Simpson.

Several years later she was able to find the funds to buy a trailer to put on it and spent the next year renovating it into her home. “Every time there was a contractor or volunteer at my house, I was there doing the work beside them,” she said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, OKrainec became ill.

She spent months in bed while living in Inuvik where she pursued a diploma of business administration before returning to Fort Simpson where she could be comforted in her home community. Where she couldn’t find help in the medical system, OKrainec's home became the place she began recovering and learning to navigate the changes to her health. “For two-and-a-half, three years, I was able to really have somewhere to heal and look after myself in a way that I really needed to,” she said.

Since learning about the loss of her trailer, OKrainec said she’s been grieving. She says an outpouring of support has been holding her up as she navigates paperwork to understand what support options are available. A fundraiser to help OKrainec rebuild has so far raised over $10,000 and she says she is “eternally grateful” for messages offering help and reminding her she is strong and will get through this.

“It really fills my heart,” she said. Crews are continuing to action the fire threatening Fort Simpson. After significant rainfall last week, fire officials said the threat to the community has been reduced with Fort Simpson Mayor Les Wright saying Monday, he hopes to start drafting a re-entry plan for the community by the end of this week.

OKrainec is keen to get back to Fort Simpson and keep on moving forward. “I’ve survived a lot and I’m going to get through this.” With files from Shannon Scott