Deployment Diaries: A Week in Adams Cove, NL
When wildfire tore through Adams Cove, NL, this past June, Team Rubicon Canada deployed Greyshirts to assist with recovery and sifting. For me, the journey from New Brunswick to the Rock came with delays, duct tape, and moments that won’t be forgotten. This is my story.
Getting to Newfoundland wasn’t easy. Delays pushed our departure by two days, and the journey itself took another three. On Monday, five of us—four from Nova Scotia and me from New Brunswick—hit the road toward Cape Breton. We stayed overnight at a Greyshirt’s place outside Sydney, then caught the Tuesday morning ferry.
That night, we arrived in Port-aux-Basques. The view from the boat was incredible, century-old homes perched along the coast, and waves hitting the shore. Our destination that night was Corner Brook, but the trip took longer than expected after one of our trucks missed the last gas stop. We ran dry with just three kilometres to go, but a quick refuel and a bit of ribbing got us back on track.
Wednesday morning, we drove the final stretch to Adams Cove. The scenery started out beautiful, with mountain views and coastal roads, but once we hit the center of the island, it was remote and quiet. We rolled into town around 2 p.m. and set up at a local community hall. It had the basics—cots, a kitchen, and bathrooms and we showered at the nearby school.
Thursday was spent getting paperwork in order so I could operate in the field.
Friday was the first day I got into the field, and we started by sifting through the basement of a home where the owner had lost her son years ago. She was hoping we could recover a few of his things. We found two boxes filled with porcelain figures, Christmas ornaments, a piggy bank, and even her son’s first ornament—an angel with his name on it. We also managed to recover most of a Nativity set and a complete cookie jar. Her reaction said everything and you could feel the weight lift, even just a little.
That day didn’t go perfectly. The PPE suits we had didn’t fit me properly, and I tore mine trying to bend over. My strike team leader patched it up with duct tape and basically, turned it into a sumo-style wrap. It worked, and it made the evening news! NTV aired footage of me wearing it. I also gave an interview to CBC that afternoon. Hopefully that was the clip people saw instead.
Saturday was a chainsaw day and it felt good to be back on the saw after some time away. The trees we cut weren’t too complex, but it took a few hours to shake the rust off. That evening, I caught up with an old friend from Bay Roberts. He picked me up, we grabbed supper, and he handed me a handmade gift bag—sewed it himself. I’ve been meaning to make him a scale model for years. Looks like I’ll finally get on that.
Sunday was one of the best days of the deployment. We tripled our output from the day before, going from 12 trees to 41, and our team worked well together, from the saw supervisor to the swampers and traffic control. That night, a few of us went to see The Irish Descendants play. We got invited on stage and gave the band a Team Rubicon shirt. The crowd gave us a nice round of applause. It was great to be recognized!
Monday was our last day in the field. We finished up one final house and cleared a few more hazard trees. We wrapped up the day with a team dinner at the Red Ochre restaurant, with a traditional Jigs Dinner—salt beef and boiled veggies. While we ate, my CBC interview aired, and I made the cut! I’m a TV star!
This deployment wasn’t easy, but it mattered. We stood alongside homeowners in one of the hardest moments of their lives. We helped where we could, some got closure while some didn’t. But we showed up and got the job done.
As I packed my gear and headed home, I thought about the stories that won’t make the news. The conversations we had, the small wins in the ash. I’m taking a bit of leave now—to change my socks–but I’ll be ready when the next call comes.
