Putting their summer, and lives, on hold for upwards of 100 days, a large thanks is going out to all those who contributed to bringing the Interior’s most devastating fire under control.
After being sparked by lightning at the beginning of July, the 83,342-hectare White Rock Lake wildfire is no longer considered a fire of note as of Friday, Sept. 17.
Scott Rennick, the fire’s incident commander, can’t say enough about the hundreds of people who worked on the blaze and at the Vernon Fire Camp, taking them away from their families.
“It needs to be remembered that we’re fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandparents, a whole range of people. We could be your family, we could be your friends, we could be your neighbours. We are the end of the day just regular people that came together to do this work,” Rennick said.
“From the pilots to the heavy equipment operators to kitchen staff to people who run security and crews, people from all over the country and all over the world.”
The camp at the former Kin Racetrack will be fully demobilized by Tuesday, Sept. 21 as the fire is taken under control by local crews.
The BC Wildfire Service thanks the continued support from the community, as well as the ongoing hospitality from the City of Vernon.
READ MORE: Recovery phase underway for residents affected by White Rock Lake wildfire
READ MORE: Campfire ban lifted in BX, Silver Star, Armstrong and Spallumcheen
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