Lake Country firefighters are banding together to support their brethren in the wildfire battle south of Peachland.
Three trucks, an engine, tender and bush truck from Lake Country assisted B.C. Wildfire crews Thursday night as firefighters from the Central Okanagan assisted with battling the 1,000-hectare blaze, named the Mount Eneas wildfire, south of Peachland, said fire chief Steven Windsor.
The first call came through requesting for firefighters Tuesday night, July 17, and a four-person crew and engine was sent to assist with fire effort’s in the Greata Ranch area, Windsor said. On Wednesday, a water tender was sent to the scene and a bush truck was sent out Thursday night. Crews have also been monitoring the Brent Road area.
“Talking to our guys, especially that first night, it was pretty intense over there, the wind came up and you have a medium sized fire, and when that wind picks up, things changed totally,” Windsor said.
When it comes to fighting wildfires, it’s in Mother Nature hands, he said.
“A house fire is usually contained, you look at a structure and obviously you have things like collapse… whereas a wildfire it’s really at the whim of Mother Nature. Forestry is big on briefing everybody… so you really have to look for escape routes and what if the wind changes. It’s a lot bigger picture that you have to really look at,” Windsor said.
Fire crews monitoring the Brent Road area and were able to put out spot fires, he said. Sparks had crossed the highway and one was burning behind a home, which Lake Country firefighters put out with an engine and tender truck.
How long the firefighters will remain helping crews in Peachland is anyone’s guess, he said, but Lake Country crews dropped everything to help out.
“Guys come back after 14 hours, but we’ve called for help with Nighthawk Road fire and Peachland called for help from us… it’s always good to be able to help your neighbours out,” Windsor said.
He said co-ordination is handled by the BC Wildfire Service.
The Lake Country Fire Department The Lake Country Fire Department consists of seven full-time staff, and 54 on-call firefighters.
Wildfires continue to burn throughout the Central Okanagan, including the Okanagan Mountain Park fire across from Peachland, and a fire in the Glenrosa area of West Kelowna.
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