'I'm not going to abandon them': Neighbours lift each other up with more rain on the way
Abbotsford’s Dan Dennill has made a living helping people clean up devastating damage.
So when he started to get calls about the floodwaters receding on parts of the Sumas Prairie, and homeowners needing help, he decided to step up.
“I was always told if a neighbour is in need, then you go and help,” Dennill, the CEO of Surreal Cleaning Solutions said. “So that’s what we’re trying to do in our own community.”
He takes us to see home after home after home.
The stories are similar: heartbreaking and at the same time, hopeful.
Near a squiggle in the Sumas, we meet Paulette Johnson.
She’s sitting at the bottom of her staircase, sorting through a box of what looks like children’s clothing, a smile on her face.
“Attitude means a lot and I am thankful for what I do have,” she tells me.
All around her, there’s utter destruction left by the flood.
Everything below a metre or so has been wiped out.
“Where do you start? You just put one foot in front of the other,” Johnson says. “Tell yourself you’re tough.”
Dennill found her by word-of-mouth, he tells me.
First, it’s demolition and getting the water out, then rinsing mud and silt, sanitizing, and getting heat and fans in.
If the homeowners don’t have savings, Dennill’s crew somehow still gets paid.
“I don’t say no. people don’t have money. It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to abandon them,” he says.
Neither is Wes Gmur, 80 years young and volunteering with Dennill’s team.
He steers us to his childhood farm, now owned by the Meier family.
“Got a lot of good friends out here,” Gmur says, “and they’re in trouble.”
Water didn’t make it to the first floor, we learn, though Chelsea Meier’s basement, which was full to the rafters, she shows us, has just gone from disaster to dry.
Her grandmother’s china and just-canned peaches somehow survived standing up.
Her six-by-twelve-foot snooker table is stuck on its side.
Out front neighbours come by with a car full of homemade snacks.
I ask her what else the family needs.
“Just support,” she says. “Hands, coveralls, boots, that’s the only thing I can think of.”
More storms are on the way.
Sandbags are available somewhere.
But on our drive we don’t see any being set out quite yet.
“You don’t even know what to do with sandbags,” Meier tells me bluntly. “You can’t even tell where. (the water will come from). I don’t know.”
Back at the Johnsons', Paulette tells me she really hasn’t thought much the forecast.
There’s too much to do.
“I can’t change the future. I can only do what I can do today,” she says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Terrifying': Manitoba resident speaks on wildfire and evacuation
As a pair of wildfires burn near Flin Flon and The Pas, a number of Manitobans are being told to evacuate their homes.
Canucks' Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosscheck on Oilers' McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been given the highest possible fine under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
Steve Buscemi punched in the face while walking in N.Y.C.
Hollywood actor Steve Buscemi has been treated for injuries after being punched in the face while walking in New York City.
DEVELOPING Michael Cohen takes the stand as testimony in Trump hush money case enters 4th week
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Air quality advisories issued in 5 provinces, 1 territory
Air quality advisories are in effect across Western Canada as smoky conditions plague some areas, according to the latest forecasts. Here's where.
Jerry Seinfeld speech prompts pro-Palestinian demonstration at U.S. university graduation ceremony
A tiny contingent of Duke University graduates opposed pro-Israel comedian Jerry Seinfeld speaking at their commencement in North Carolina Sunday, with about 30 of the 7,000 students leaving their seats and chanting "free Palestine" amid a mix of boos and cheers.
Just how bad are ultraprocessed foods? Here are 5 things to know
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
No refund for travellers who cancelled flight already scrapped by airline: regulator
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
opinion Harry and Meghan's Nigerian adventure: Traditional attire to warm welcomes
For her latest column on CTVNews.ca, royal commentator Afua Hagan writes about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent visit to Nigeria, calling it a 'deeply meaningful campaign' that was about aligning their ongoing efforts to foster mental-health awareness and promoting the Invictus Games.