Blaze claims structures, woman says
Structures have now been reported lost in the Finlay Creek blaze west of Summerland, according to a spokeswoman for the BC Wildfire Service.
“I don’t know to what extent or what they are, whether they’re homes or sheds or what, but there have been some” lost, said Heather Rice, who was also unsure about where the damage was done.
She noted, however, that structural protection specialists have been at work near the north end of Garnet Lake and Meadow Valley, which constitutes the south flank of the blaze.
An information officer for the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, which has jurisdiction over the area, was unable to provide any details about the damaged structures.
Rice said crews are continuing to focus their efforts on the south end of the fire, “primarily because that’s the flank that’s the busiest and causing the most concern as the winds come from a northerly direction.”
There was a spot of good news, though, with the estimated size of the fire being cut Tuesday by a third to 1,000 hectares due to more accurate mapping.
“We finally were able to get up in the air and actually had a good aerial look at it and do a track on it,” explained Rice.
“It hasn’t actually changed anything; it just means we have better data.”
An evacuation order for 55 properties in Meadow Valley, and an evacuation alert for 97 more in Faulder, were issued by the RDOS on Sunday and remain in effect.
A separate evacuation alert for 29 homes in the Garnet Valley was issued Monday by the District of Summerland and is also still in effect.
There were 35 firefighters, 18 pieces of heavy equipment and seven helicopters on the fire Tuesday.
Meanwhile, volunteers are also active in the area rescuing animals from inside the evacuation zone.
“We’ve got at least 30 head of sheep. There are five goats. I’m not sure how many chickens right now. Quite a few horses. We’ve got cows,” Donna Wackbauer said Tuesday, reciting a partial list of creatures that had already been taken to safety by the Canadian Disaster Animal Response Team.
Domestic pets like cats and dogs are being sheltered at the emergency reception centre in the Summerland arena, where volunteers are caring for the animals around the clock.
Horses, cows and other livestock are going to the Summerland Rodeo Grounds to await transfers to foster homes in the region.
Wackbauer said some of the animals coming out of the fire zone are in desperate need of fresh air.
“We have had some that were brought out that we’re in the heavily smoky areas and did have some coughing and things like that,” she explained.
“That’s normal, but that’s why we get them out of the area so they can get that cleaned out.”
CDART is still in need of hay, foster homes and volunteers who have experience handling animals in high-stress situations. To help, call Lynn at or email .