A blaze that has left a trail of destruction in the Northern Okanagan. And for 91-year-old Freddy Louis, he was given just a few minutes to evacuate a home he had lived in for more than half a century.
“The only real home I had for, oh gee. For 50-60 years anyway,” said Louis.
Less than a week ago, hundreds of properties were destroyed on the Okanagan Indian Band Reserve by the Bradley Creek wildfire including Louis’s. During the chaos, Louis recalls how quickly the flames spread.
“The way the fire was coming, I pretty much knew that this was it.”
Louis says during the evacuation he had gone back to pack what he could in a small bag, as well as his dog Princess.
Now with temporary shelter in place at a hotel in Vernon. Louis reflects on what he lost in the fire and remembers his late wife’s photo album he had to leave behind.
“She loved taking pictures, ever since I met her, she took pictures. We had thousands of pictures and we lost everything.”
The Bradley Creek fire continues to grow and it remains out of control. As of Friday, between this blaze, and the nearby Quilpituk Creek wildfire burning in between Vernon and Kelowna, there are seven evacuation orders and four alerts.
Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming says his community is doing everything it can to help.
“The people had a very rough Saturday night, some in their cars, some at friends, just a very difficult night. We opened again early the next morning and began to process people and find them accommodations,” said Cumming.
For Louis and many others who don’t have a home to go back to, it will be a long wait to see what the next steps are. But the 91-year-old says that while things can be replaced, he can’t.
“[I] got a little emotional, but I got over it. I just have to go on,” said Louis.
