Reflecting on Canfield shootings, one year later
This day, on a Sunday it started out pretty normal. My boyfriend at the time and I went to church at One Place Church in Hayden. My ex-boyfriend, Evrett, is a log truck driver, but he also has his fire card so he can bring a water truck onto wildfires to help fight them. After church, we spent some time with our friends from church and then decided to head out to Lake Pend Oreille.
From there, I had a bad feeling once we saw the smoke coming from Canfield Mountain. We had been officially dating for less than 24 hours. I jumped onto Facebook while he drove us to the lake, and North Idaho News reported there was a fire. Evrett said to me, “I might get called onto that fire, so if it happens, can you drive my pickup to my apartment after you drop me off at the water truck at the shop?”
I remember thinking, “Interesting way to start off dating,” like I hadn’t drove his pickup yet either but it only got more interesting. He started questioning why the fire wasn’t getting any helicopters or planes. Right before we got to the lake, I checked North Idaho News again, and the update said, “Gunfire reported at first responders.” We both sat in silence for a minute and just couldn’t believe it.
We went down to the beach for less than an hour when his phone went off. It was his boss calling him to go stage the water truck, but thankfully not anywhere near the fire — just ready to go fight it once the gunman was detained. I remember being a little scared and worried for him because we were hearing there might be multiple shooters, and we didn’t know if there were more people waiting to ambush additional firefighters responding to the scene.
His phone rang again. It was his mom. She said, “Please don’t tell me you’re on that fire right now.” Evrett responded, “No, I’m not, but I’m on my way to get the water truck.”
Waiting for news about what had happened was a constant heartache. I was so thankful that my friend — honestly, my best friend even before we started dating — wasn’t on that fire, but I felt such sympathy for those families and first responders. If I felt that worried about my boyfriend, who wasn’t even on the fire, I cannot imagine how those first responders’ partners feel every day when they send their spouses off to work.
It was a day and a feeling I’ll never forget.
Rest in peace to the men who lost their lives. And to the first responder who survived, you have this community’s respect and support.
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Camee Hammeren is a resident of Kellogg.