It’s been just over 10 years now since flood waters ravaged the town of High River, forcing thousands from their homes and destroying whole neighbourhoods.
But while pain and trauma endure, residents and local leaders say they’ve watched a resurgence, fuelled by community spirit and their unlikely role in the production of HBO’s The Last of Us.
It’s been quite the decade. Mackenzie Lackten, a resident who experienced the flood firsthand, says her neighbourhood was especially close knit before the disaster.
“My home was in Beachwood, a loving community. Everybody got together at Christmas time. We would all just like hang out, have big fires, and drink hot chocolate,” says Lackten.
However, the flood changed everything.
“My brother woke me up and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, look outside.’ I look outside the window, and the water is so high next to the berm that they had built as a prevention to help with the flood.”
Even a decade later, Lackten’s trauma lingers in her fear of water.
“The flood made me very, very aware of water. I was afraid to go in the water after. I hated it when it rained; I would just cry. Because I was so scared that my house was gonna go underwater again.”
The Last of Us, a show about a zombie apocalypse, was partially filmed in Lackten’s old community of Beachwood. She appreciated the town’s appearance on screen.
“It’s cool to see that everybody gets to experience what Alberta is. Alberta is more than just the Rockies, so it was cool to see them incorporate these areas.”
While the representation from the hit series excited many, others still find it difficult to move beyond the challenges of that period in their lives.
Mayor Craig Snodgrass sees evidence of the flood’s devastation all around town.
“We’re 10 years out, and it still goes on today. Financially, a lot of people are still recovering from that. The PTSD of the actual event itself, the mental strain on people, is still alive and well,” says Snodgrass.
A silver lining
The production of The Last of Us was the largest TV series in Canadian history, according to the Motion Picture Association of Canada. In total, it pumped more than $141 million into the Alberta economy and employed more than 840 local cast and crew across the province.
There’s a dark irony, not lost on local residents, that when that huge production came looking for an abandoned neighbourhood, they had just the spot.
Because Beachwood was one of the first communities hit by the flood, the mayor had already decided to remove the neighbourhood altogether.
“We have to be much more cognizant of where we’re building our communities. We removed two neighbourhoods, one called Beachwood and the other called Wallaceville. So [there were] about 180 structures that we tore down,” says Snodgrass.
However, producers from The Last of Us were able to secure a spot within the community before all the streets and sidewalks were removed. All of the houses featured in the on-screen portrayal were sets built after the town of High River removed the communities.
No homes impacted by the 2013 floods were used.
“It’s terrible to say that it benefited our town. It brought in a lot of revenue from people coming to visit because they want to see this town and see what happened to it and see the rebuilds from it.”
As High River looks to the future, the town remains resilient. While acknowledging the pain and trauma, residents like Lackten express hope.
“I think that this little town is going to become the perfect movie set for anything because we’ve got the small-town feels and the kind of eerie vibes in the woods out here. And I think it’s a great community,” says Lackten.
The 2013 flood may forever be etched in the memories of High River residents. Still, their stories of recovery, resilience, and community spirit continue to shape the town’s narrative as it moves forward.
