By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Tense moments in fight to save Prince of Wales Hotel

Sep 19, 2017 | 1:32 PM

COALDALE – As the damage assessment came in from Parks Canada last week, more than a few people were surprised to learn that the Waterton townsite and Prince of Wales Hotel were virtually unharmed by the Kenow wildfire.

Don’t count Coaldale fire chief Kevin McKeown among them though.

The Coaldale fire department was one of several units from across the province that came together to help protect the townsite. Coaldale’s mission specifically, was to work with fire crews from Calgary and Waterton to prevent the blaze from reaching the Prince of Wales.

McKeown’s team – consisting of six firefighters and two vehicles – received the call for assistance from the province on Sept. 8, and spent the next few days preparing in Waterton. They familiarized themselves with the hotel and worked to establish a water supply, as there was limited capacity from the townsite’s hydrants. With the help of Rapidfire and Rescue Inc. (a private held company based out of Red Deer) they were able to pump water up from the lake.

“We had no escape route. Even if we wanted to leave, we couldn’t.” – Coaldale fire chief Kevin McKeown

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“The fire started coming over the mountains on Sept. 11. It was kind of a feeling of excitement and nervousness. It was the moment that we had been planning for, for the last three days, hoping that it wasn’t going to happen, but here it was right in front of us and it was happening,” McKeown told Lethbridge News Now.

When the question came up of how they were able to hold off the massive wildfire that was sweeping across the park and beyond, McKeown said the answer was simple.

“It was a good thing we had a few days to get ready,” he stated. “We were prepared for this moment, we had everything already figured out. So, at that time it was just, OK let’s get to work, here it is.”

While McKeown remained relatively nonchalant about the process throughout the interview, he took on a more serious tone when he acknowledged the threat they faced.

“There was a few tense moments. We had fire coming up at us from three directions, and we were up at the Prince of Wales, we had no escape route. Even if we wanted to leave, we couldn’t.

“It’s never a good feeling when you don’t have a way out, but with the team that we had up there, the hard work we were doing, I never felt that [we were] in a life-threatening situation. There were a few moments where we had to move a crew because of a rapidly advancing fire, but we were able to get them out and to a safe location in the right time,” McKeown explained.

With Parks Canada now saying the Kenow fire is no longer out of control and being held, McKeown noted that all but two of their crew has returned to Coaldale. He then made a point of crediting everyone who stood tall against the advancing flames.

“Calgary, Waterton and Rapidfire, we could not have done anything without them,” he stated. “Waterton and Rapidfire ensured we had a water supply, a continuous water supply up to the hotel. You know, without them, we didn’t stand a fighting chance.

He also thanked their volunteers, as well as their families and employers who he says were extremely understanding when they were called into action.

“It’s a really good feeling to know that we played a big part in that,” McKeown added. “The Prince of Wales is still standing, so it feels good that we accomplished our mission.

“There’s a lot of damage [elsewhere in the park] and that landscapes been changed, but I think there is a lot of positives that we can look at and say we did a good job.”

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