Amazing job firefighters

We love our firefighters, they are the absolute best! This statement might sound like hometown charity but it’s also the honest to God truth. Our firefighters again showed their value on Thursday with both a heroic and skilled mission on the West Bench, averting what could have been a catastrophe.

The fire broke out around 9 a.m., and crews were immediately on the scene battling the blaze and keeping it from spreading. The “third-alarm fire,” a fancy term for all hands on deck, brought all personnel to the location along with backup from the BC Wildfire Service and nearby fire crews from Naramata and Summerland.

While it’s no concession to the owners of two homes that were damaged and dozens of others who were evacuated, the fact is it could have been a lot worse.

It’s been a terrible summer so far for wildfires across the province and when locals saw smoke and flames from the hills on the West Bench, everyone’s immediate thoughts were “too close to home.”

Conveniently there was the infrastructure already in place for evacuees as the Penticton Community Centre has been turned into an emergency centre since Canada Day weekend.

An editorial praising the response to the West Bench fire wouldn’t be complete without recognition of all others involved with the emergency, especially our RCMP.

Herald editorials seldom receive a unanimous consensus from the public. This is one of the occasions when we can safely speak on behalf of the entire community and say, thank you Penticton Fire Department!

Local crews averted disaster on West Bench