Members of the Amos family, who live on Spartan Street in Oliver, didn’t have much time to pack their belongings after fire broke out in their neighbourhood Friday evening. (Lyonel Doherty photo)
This is what Oliver is made of.
The comment reverberated as fire officials and Oliver residents look back at how the community came together in the face of a monster – the firestorm of 2015.
The town was literally rocked last Friday night by a state of emergency that saw two wildfires that turned peoples’ lives upside down in the Wilson Mountain and Testalinden Creek areas.
Homeowners like J.C. Oliveira and the Amos family on Spartan Street didn’t know what to expect as the flames threatened to destroy their world.
Thanks to the great work done by the Oliver Fire Department, no homes were touched by fire that evening.
Oliveira, who had been enjoying a glass of wine, oblivious to what was coming, said you always hear about tragedy striking other people, but you never think it will happen to you.
Oliver town councillor Larry Schwartzenberger said the fire came to within 45 feet from his home on Spartan.
“We are truly fortunate to have an absolutely fantastic fire department that did an unbelieveable job in making sure that no homes in Oliver were lost,” he said.
Schwartzenberger returned the favour by allowing firefighters to siphon water from his pool in order to stop the fire’s advance.
Meanwhile, he and his wife Claire packed their important items and stayed with friends Friday night.
“The experience reminded me what a caring community we live in,” Larry said.
He noted that firefighters put everything on hold and risked their lives to fight those fires. He also praised the volunteers at the evacuation centre set up at the Oliver Community Centre that was open all night and the neighbours, friends and strangers who offered their homes to evacuees.
“Oliver comes together in times of stress to help one another,” he said.
Rob Graham from the Oliver Fire Department said the outpouring of support for his volunteer crews members was “fantastic.”
People showed up with fruit, businesses donated cases of water, Subway donated sandwiches, and boxes of pizza showed up.
Graham said fire victims even gave them cupcakes.
“There has been incredible support,” he said, making special mention of wives and spouses of firefighters who were tremendous caregivers throughout the crisis.
Graham said without the work of provincial forestry crews, particularly the helicopter operators on Wilson Mountain, the devastation would have been far worse.
He also said they truly appreciated other fire departments (Willowbrook, Osoyoos and Okanagan Falls) that sent in their crews to help out.
Mark Woods, director of emergency social services with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS), said having the evacuation centre in the community hall worked extremely well.
“It was a well-oiled machine, but sometimes it didn’t feel like it (during some of the chaotic moments).”
A total of 300 people were registered at the centre by Saturday morning. He stressed the importance of evacuees registering at these centres so that volunteers can keep tabs on families.
Woods said they were bombarded with phone calls from people asking where their loved ones were . . . “trying to find mom and dad.”
Woods mentioned the dedication shown by some regional district staff who were on vacation, but showed up at the evacuation centre offering to help.
Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes was quite emotional during a press conference on Saturday. He said the community never faced a crises of this magnitude before.
“This could have been a huge, huge disaster,” he pointed out, noting the community really came together.
On Sunday, B.C. Premier Christy Clark came to Oliver to personally thank members of the Oliver Fire Department, forestry crews and volunteers at the evacuation centre.
When it was Fire Chief Dan Skaros’s turn to shake her hand, he said, “I’m a hugger,” and proceeded to give her a big hug.
Graham said it meant a lot to them to see the premier take the time to visit Oliver during the crisis.
It was somewhat of a bittersweet visit because Clark voiced her displeasure about a drone that grounded several aircraft during fire suppression efforts on Sunday.
She said homes could have been burning in the Testalinden Creek area while aircraft were forced to land.
The RCMP are currently investigating to determine who was responsible for the drone.
As of Tuesday, the Wilson Mountain fire, at 317 hectares, was 70 per cent contained, while the Testalinden Creek fire (1,600 hectares) was 40 per cent contained.
Two homes were damaged in the fires.
All of the evacuees have returned home, but they are still on alert.
LYONEL DOHERTY
Special to the Times
