The smoke that blanketed Whitesand First Nation became thicker, darker and more acrid within hours.
By Monday afternoon, debris started falling down from the pine trees. Panic began to grow in the remote Ontario community more than 250 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
That’s when Daniel Nodin realized it was time for everyone to pack up and flee for their lives.
Although the blaze was still invisible, the retired firefighter knew this: Wildfires cannot kill from far away, but the smoke can.
“You breathe that, then … your lungs might collapse because of the smoke inhalation and the heat,” he said.
Nodin first told his daughter and son-in-law it was too risky to stay. …