Okangan resident Kellie Mast knows that the most important thing is that she, her daughter and her grandson are safe, but she is now grappling with the loss of their home to the Bradley Creek wildfire.
They had just minutes to escape their property on the Benchland above Okanagan Lake when the wildfire tore through the property.
“I could see the flames literally coming up the rise, and there was just our small little municipal road there,” Mast said.
“So, we had almost no time. It was like get out.”
The family is now among the hundreds of people who have lost their home this wildfire season.
“I left with two bins of things from my desk, and my daughter left with a few of her kid’s clothes… like almost nothing, almost nothing.”
What is left behind is now little more than ash and charred debris.
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“When we drove out, the flames were in our yard,” Mast said.
“They were already surrounding our house, and when we left out the driveway… there was flames on both sides.”
The Bradley Creek wildfire is now about 2,800 hectares and still burning out of control.
The BC Wildfire Service said there has not been any significant growth on the fire, but evacuation orders remain in place.
“There still are a lot of hazards that remain in the area after a wildfire has gone through an area,” Sarah Hall with the BC Wildfire Service said.
“So just ensuring that essentially the area is safe for the public to return is a top priority for us and those local authorities.”
Mast is critical about the evacuation process and access to support services.
“Dealing with the evacuation process that they’ve set up with emergency services has been less than ideal,” Mast said.
“We went through it in 2021, and it seemed like they were less prepared, not better prepared.”
Mast is now trying to find a place to stay and replace the basic necessities they need.
She said her grandson still asks to go home, but she doesn’t know when that will become a reality.
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