By Canadian Press

Chief of small Okanagan, B.C., brigade says 13 firefighters lost own homes to blaze

Aug 25, 2023 | 10:37 AM

KELOWNA, B.C. — The chief of a small rural fire department in B.C.’s Okanagan region says 13 members of his own crew have lost their homes while fighting wildfires this season.

Wilson’s Landing Fire Chief Paul Zydowicz says wildfires burning on the west side of Okanagan Lake have been a “nightmare” due their speed and intensity. 

Zydowicz told a briefing Thursday that his team thought a fire two years ago would be the biggest they’d ever face, but this season’s wildfires have dwarfed those in the recent past. 

He says members of the department kept up the fight as their own homes burned behind them, calling the losses to the community an “incredible blow.” 

They are among 181 homes destroyed in communities around Lake Okanagan since last week.

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Zydowicz says those who have lost homes will be taken care of by emergency support services, with much of the area west of the lake still under evacuation orders or on alerts. 

This wildfire season in B.C. has seen more than 17,600 square kilometres burned, and the BC Wildfire Service says there are more than 360 blazes burning across the province.    

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 25, 2023

The Canadian Press