A wildfire in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta on August 21, 2003 abruptly changed direction, growing into a 6 km wide wall of flames up to 50m high and throwing off the energy equivalent of an atomic explosion every 30 minutes. Elaine Hruby evacuated her home with only her valuables, including a plastic Buddha, cat, and dog. While sitting and watching the flames, she felt drawn to them like a magnet. Local businesses saw increased activity from the evacuations and fire response, including spray lake sawmills which was granted a 28% quota of the annual salvage rights to log 20,000 hectares burned in the fire, which could help ecological diversity.