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Forest Fires in Kelowna - a personal perspective
By Jennifer Smith
Ordinarily I spend each and every day creating jewelry. I have a cozy little home studio located in beautiful Kelowna, BC and my days usually consist of spending time online doing some social networking and fulfilling customer orders. However, in the past 8 days, my idyllic routine was unexpectedly interrupted by the forces of Mother Nature. Kelowna is a gorgeous city located on Okanagan Lake and surrounded by natural forests. We have had extremely dry and hot weather and on Saturday, July 18th, three forest fires broke out all of which were human-caused (not arson, but human carelessness). On this day, the winds were also strong which started to rapidly spread these fires dangerously close to residential areas. The first of the fires to burst out of control was the Glenrosa fire. This fire caused an immediate evacuation order for the entire area of Glenrosa and Westbank. This fire actually started within view of my brother's house. He and his family were among the first homes to be evacuated and they had only minutes to gather their belongings and get out of the area. All five of them (the youngest is 17) came to stay at our house and it was a very stressful time for all of us. My husband and I did our best to make them comfortable, we all kept our eyes and ears glued to the news reports, and we waited... During this time, the Rose Valley fire also errupted which is approximately 15 kms south from our home. The flames from this fire were not visible from our home, but we could definitely see a lot of smoke. We were not in immediate danger from this fire, but it certainly added to an already tense situation. On Wednesday July 22, my brother and his family were finally allowed to go back to their home. They were incredibly surprised and relieved to see that their house was untouched by the Glenrosa fire. To say that we are grateful for the efforts of the firefighters and emergency personnel is quite an understatement! After a few hours of feeling a bit more relaxed and thinking that the worst was over, the Terrace Mountain fire doubled in size and was reported as being "out-of-control." This fire is located approximately 30 kms north of our house. On Thursday July 23, it was now our turn to be put on evacuation alert. We were instructed to pack up our personal belongings and be prepared to leave at a moments notice. With my heart breaking, I methodically began to pack up our personal papers, a few suitcases, dog toys, and of course all of my jewelry tools and supplies. On this day, the sky around above and around our home was filled with smoke and the atmosphere in our neighborhood was cautious, but tense. As of Sunday July 26 I am pleased to report that the Glenrosa and Rose Valley fires are completely contained and all of the evacuated residents in these areas have been allowed to return to their homes. The Terrace Mountain fire is 50% contained and is not currently moving in the direction of our house. I am incredibly grateful to see beautiful blue skies and remain optimistic that all will be well. Today, I am celebrating another beautiful day by reopening my website and getting back to “business as usual.”
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