Wheatley residents gather to mark one year since explosion

Susan Fulmer says the Wheatley Stronger Together gathering was all about reconnecting in Wheatley, Ont. on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (Travis Fortnam/CTV News Windsor)

At 6:13 p.m. Friday, residents of Wheatley flipped on a lighthouse — marking one year, down to the minute, that an explosion rocked the core of their community.

The Wheatley Stronger Together gathering, held in Two Creeks Conservation Area, was not as somber a gathering as one might expect, more about reconnection.

“Everyone’s been so busy trying to establish what’s happening with their houses and work with insurance, it’s been so much stuff and we haven’t had the opportunity to just be a community,” says Susan Fulmer, one of the event’s organizers.

Community — the keyword of the event. Residents supporting each other through their shared trauma with still so many unanswered questions.

Invited to write messages of support and hope on ribbons, tied to an evergreen tree that will be planted in town.

One of the items on the event agenda Fulmer says she hopes serves some therapeutic purpose.

“If only for a moment, you let it go,” she says.

Letting it go — not a luxury the town’s population of fewer than 3,000 people has had this past year.

Many residents still haven’t been given the all-clear to return home.

Steve Ingram says he and his wife are lucky, only spending eight of the last 12 months near-homeless.

“It’s been a nightmare of hotels and Airbnbs and family helping us out and struggling,” Ingram says.

“But we haven’t had it as bad as other people. We’ve been very fortunate.”

Ingram says he doubts a big city would need to wade through the problems imposed upon the town of Wheatley for this long had they been the centre of an explosion like this.

He says it feels like it’s been longer than a year.

Looking forward, Wheatley’s residents still don’t know what comes next.

A town hall is scheduled to be held in the community on Saturday, Sept. 10, with hope more information might be given then.