Former Winkler resident Melanie Friesen and her husband Jason have been living in West Kelowna for 19 years. Melanie was born and raised in Winkler, her parents are Ken and Carol Neufeld and her brother is local musician Link Neufeld from Link and the Moustaches. While Forest Fire season is somewhat normal, even to be ready for evacuation during that time can be as well, Friesen said this is the worst she has ever seen it because it is so close to home.
Her mom calls to get an update on the situation unfolding in Kelowna where fires threaten the safety of thousands of homes in the area nestled in the Okanagan along Lake Okanagan and to let her know they are safe.
"They've got crews in the air, and you might be able to hear in the background there's a helicopter buzzing around me. There's a lake, just maybe a kilometer from me in my neighborhood, and they're bucketing out of that lake. And then they're putting out fires that are surrounding our neighbourhood. They've also got hundreds of ground crew, and they've got ground crew working night and day fighting those fires, and they've come from all over the place."
Last week, they were evacuated for a day, before they were told it was safe to go back home.
"Of course, that's so worrisome too, when you're evacuating and taking all your stuff that is irreplaceable, your documents, and the dogs, and your family. It was kind of hard to say," She stopped briefly and shifted, "It could have been goodbye to my house, my home. Pictures, I basically have a box for each kid, and passports, the deed to the house, the will, everything like that. So, things that we just can't replace."
The Lake Okanagan Resort was one of the 90 confirmed structures that received significant damage from the fire and that hit Friesen close to home, but 3000 structures had been saved.
"So, just down the road from there, my daughter had been working at a summer camp all summer and she got out a few hours before it burned the ground. We're happy that she's home and they got out all the kids, but they lost 90% of the camp. They're gonna rebuild. It's really, really sad that happened."
Jason is a City Councilor for West Kelowna. Melanie said council is working hard to support the evacuees and is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support they are receiving at this time.
She described the feeling in the neighbourhood.
"It's surreal. People can't believe it's happening because it's so close to home and everybody knows somebody that's lost a home or lost something, or their significant other is fighting in the fires and there's a lot of emotions. One thing I'll say about it is that our community is amazing. People have rallied together to help everyone. All the volunteers and all the donation sites are unbelievable. What people are doing for this community."
Here is the full interview with Friesen and Pembina Valley Online Reporter Robyn Wiebe:
