'She led it the whole way': 18-year-old B.C. woman leads hikers to safety in Jasper National Park

As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.

“I like to be able to help people,” said the 18-year-old. “I like the fact that what I do in my work does good.”

Knull is a volunteer firefighter in the North Okanagan. She was working a summer job as part of the kitchen staff at a Jasper lodge when, on Monday night, an evacuation order was issued for the area.

“The smoke was coming up from the mountainside,” said Knull. “It was big.”

Knull quickly spread the word to guests of the lodge and tracked down any other people camping out in the area.

In total, she rallied 16 people together for a four-hour hike in treacherous terrain to safety.

“There was more intense smoke, my eyes were burning, there was ash falling constantly,” said Rebecca Tocher, a hiker who was in Knull’s group.

“She was an amazing leader and was just making sure that everyone was working together.”

Knull used her knowledge of the area and tracking skills to navigate in the dark.

“I had previously rode up a horse up to that lodge on that same trail and throughout the way me and my employer, we had cut logs on the way up," said Knull. "There were 67 logs, so there would be be 67 cut logs on the way down … So I used my tracking skills – following horse tracks, horse manure.”

“She was just on it and she led it, the whole way,” said David Richmond, another hiker in the group.

“I do it because at the end of the day, I know I’d want to go home and I’d want somebody there to help,” said Knull.

During the hike down, the group was able to communicate with search and rescue crews to help with the evacuation. Knull eventually drove all 16 people in her pickup truck out of the evacuation zone. No one was seriously injured.

Knull said the experience reinforced her motivation to become a full-time, professional firefighter.