‘Such a lucky duck’: Barber reflects on year of Revelstoke business after fleeing Jasper fire

Loads of generous community support made transition seamless for Lucky Duck Barbershop’s Wade Rimstad

Wade Rimstad, 39, still vividly remembers the apocalyptic scenes as he fled Jasper, Alta., two years ago: Gridlocked traffic, walls of smoke and the hills around him on fire. Leaving his residence in the Cabin Creek neighbourhood and his work at Red Pass Barber Co. in July 2024 to temporarily resettle, Rimstad wasn’t planning to end up in Revelstoke. He vaguely knew the town from his step-father’s upbringing there — and a gig he played at the Last Drop around 2015 with his long-disbanded eight-piece band of Edmonton Oilers fans and bottle cap artists.

Jasperites such as Rimstad, originally from Edmonton, were shut off from the eastbound Yellowhead Highway to Alberta’s capital, as a roaring 32,000-hectare blaze prompted evacuation. Other highways quickly grew backlogged. Rimstad and his friends found themselves detouring south via Calgary and into B.C., with hopes of resettling in Canmore.

“Literally, it was pitch-black and ashes on the window,” he recounted from the drive out of Jasper, detailing the transition from impenetrable smoky skies to the refreshing sunlight over Kelowna after a long night’s journey. “It was surreal. It was kind of like a time warp.”

READ: Revelstoke filmmaker’s screening about Jasper keeps local wildfire awareness alive They camped several nights in Naramata, then circled north to Revelstoke for a quick stop en route to Valemount. Hotels were booked up in every town all the way to Kamloops and farther west, leaving Rimstad properly “Revelstuck” for the time being. Browsing local haircutters, he came across Comb On Over Barbershop and was surprised to see it closed for two weeks while owner Deb Hedin was away and lacking extra hands to staff it.

Hedin took Rimstad under her wing for about four months. “It was just one of those moments where you’re in survival mode,” he remembered feeling after fleeing Jasper. “I really owe it to her.”

After getting his bearings in Revelstoke at Comb On Over, Rimstad broadened his hairstyling skills for a few months with the all-women team at Birch & Lace Salon. “It felt like I had 20 sisters there,” he joked. “It was very welcoming.”

By May 2025, Rimstad was signing a lease for 111 Connaught Ave. to open his own business. The following July 1, Lucky Duck Barbershop opened doors and quickly drew local business from men seeking a more traditional-style haircut.

(Rimstad accidentally opened booking early before obtaining his business licence, which city bylaw officials were lenient about in exchange for some haircuts). “Everybody wanted a barbershop,” Rimstad said. “We’re trying to be high end...

but we’re really catering to the whole community.” Classic barbering elements he offers include hot towel shaves. That said, Rimstad adds his own touches such as laying skateboards across the barber chair to adjust height for children, or brewing espresso in the kitchen for older customers.

His Connaught Avenue building previously housed Jessica Stewardson Photography, and Sangha Bean Cafe before that (“man, that was a good café,” customers would rave to Rimstad). When he moved in, he “essentially just copy-pasted” the barbershop esthetic of Red Pass. Even how the morning sun shines through the window and projects the Lucky Duck logo onto the floor mimics his Jasper workplace.

Red Pass survived the 2024 blaze thanks to a firebreak crews deployed while flames tore through buildings across the street. READ: A year after Jasper fire, Revelstoke aerialist premiering film about return home Before leaving, Rimstad was living in friend Sasha Galitzki’s basement.

Galitzki, an aerial performer who Black Press Media has profiled and who also relocated to Revelstoke. Like Galitzki, who was abroad when the fire tore through town, Rimstad returned to Jasper later that summer to assess the damage and salvage scarce belongings from the rubble. “It felt like you were walking in amnesia,” he described about going back, recounting some neighbours cheering him on while they rebuilt their homes amid nails and melted windows strewn around Cabin Creek.

With nearly one-third of Jasper’s buildings leveled by the blaze, “the whole neighbourhood was just basements ‘cause the fire was so hot,” Rimstad explained. “You couldn’t recognize anything.” He visited the local Royal Canadian Legion to help community volunteers hand out food for displaced residents.

He also rummaged through the ruins of Galitzki’s home, and found one of his most prized possessions: the scorched, wheelless frame of his bicycle. Given the bike’s sentimental value from his rides around the world in Brazil, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, Rimstad saved it as a memento and exhibits it today on the wall of his barbershop lounge. Otherwise, Rimstad said he basically left Jasper with just his sandals and guitar.

Still, he’s grateful Revelstoke opened its arms to him when he needed it. Rimstad and Galitzki weren’t the only Jasperites to land in town after the flames. Several employees from Sunhouse Cafe, which burned down near Red Pass, have since worked at Spilt Milk (formerly Dose).

Other local businesses and community members also rose to the occasion to support Jasper evacuees in the wake of disaster. Aaron Orlando and Robyn Conway put Rimstad up in a spare room for a month at no cost after he arrived. Dougal McGhee edged and cut his new shop space in exchange for free haircuts until 2030.

Artist Keshia Blake painted the elaborate back wall mural inspired by the Jasper wilderness. “This community has been insanely accepting,” Rimstad said, calling his transition to Revelstoke seamless. READ: New candy shop talk of the block for Revelstoke’s sweet tooth “When I landed here and everything was working out, I was like, ‘I’m such a lucky duck,’” he recalled — yielding a fitting name for his barbershop.

“I think it was surprising that it actually worked out.” Since getting the business running, he’s dealt out free haircuts to customers who also left Jasper. Even long after the fire, he described some of them still feeling stunned.

With the Jasper blaze two years behind him, Rimstad isn’t going anywhere soon and plans to stick around Revelstoke for the next 10 years. His first employee Jasmine has helped trim hair since last September, and new apprentice Kaleb makes Lucky Duck a three-barber show. Lucky Duck Barbershop is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.