Monte Lake residents say wildfire flare ups continue to damage buildings

Minister faces backlash over wildfire comments B.C.'s public safety minister is facing backlash after scolding Monte Lake residents for staying behind to try to save their homes.

Vancouver — As the White Rock Lake wildfire raced toward the community of Monte Lake, people grabbed what they could, jumped in their vehicles and got out of town.

“It was an inferno. It was coming so fast, so hot, that we literally started screaming and running,” said Tori Cawkwell, who evacuated to a relative’s home near Salmon Arm.

“The sound of the roar, the sound of the propane tanks exploding, the sound of the hydro line transformers exploding, it was so loud that we couldn’t even talk to each other.”

The fire quickly swept over the community on Thursday evening, destroying nearly everything in its path.

In the aftermath, spot fires continue to flare up, with reports of at least one more home lost on Saturday.

On Friday, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth scolded people who stayed behind to try to fight the fire, saying they put first responders’ lives at risk.

"This experience was traumatic for all involved and should never have happened,” Farnworth said, as he explained firefighters had to be pulled off the fire line to help with evacuations.

But Cawkwell, and her neighbour Lindsay Madsen, say locals had to stay behind to protect their community because there was nobody else around.

“Our husbands are there putting out fires for the last two days and they have not seen anyone,” Madsen said. “No one has come up and said, ‘Hey guys you got to get out. We’re taking over.’ Because they’d be gone. They’d be here with us.”

The women live on Paxton Valley Road and say not everyone in their neighbourhood even received the evacuation order.

Cawkwell said someone knocked on her door and handed her the notice just after midnight on Thursday morning, but Madsen said nobody showed up at her house even though she lives next door.

“I didn’t have time to tell the people beside me that I assumed already knew. And that shouldn’t be my job,” said Cawkwell. “If they knew, they should have been coming up the damn road in a brigade with megaphones screaming and yelling until they had every light on in the neighbourhood. Literally, they left us to burn.”

The BC Wildfire Service could not immediately say how many structures in Monte Lake were lost in the fire.

Cawkwell estimates close to half the homes and buildings in town went up in flames.

Her own home was spared by the initial wave of fire, but she’s still concerned about what she might find when she goes back.

“How in the hell are we supposed to sleep tonight now? There’s no support and now there’s more spot fires,” she said. “Are we going to have homes? We have no idea.”

Jackie Cooke, well-known in the community for rescuing and caring for stray animals, lost everything to the fire.

Her brother told CTV News she was not insured, so he set up a GoFundMe page to help her rebuild.

“The fire officials won’t let us in to see the full extent of the damage, but the house is gone,” said Kevin Cooke, who also urged people in the area to be careful while driving because many people who could not take livestock or household pets with them simply set the animals free.

Rob Bouchard's home was also destroyed. Before and after photos shared with CTV News show several structures on the property, all of them collapsed and badly burned from the fire.

Friends of Bouchard have also set up a GoFundMe page.

Another GoFundMe set up by Cawkwell has the ambitious goal of raising $5,000,000.

She says the plan is to create a fund that anyone in the community impacted by the fire could draw on for essential needs and reconstruction.

In the meantime, the wildfire continues to burn and threaten other communities, including Vernon and the Okanagan Indian Band.

Chief Byron Louis said nearly 3,000 people had to be evacuated from the reserve Friday evening.

“Some of the people who were evacuated had to leave within half an hour,” he said. “One of the things we’re trying to do is make sure everyone has accommodations and basic necessities. It’s been a logistical challenge.”

The BC Wildfire Service says the 55,000 hectare inferno has close to 300 kilometres of active fire lines, forcing crews to choose where to fight the blaze because they cannot attack the whole thing.

The fire is expected to continue to burn for months.

“We’re really prioritizing areas of concern and putting in good work there,” said fire information officer Forrest Tower. “This fire’s going to be around. It’s something where winter will put it out.”

Some rain overnight dampened the fire, but hot windy weather expected in the week ahead will likely cause it to flare up aggressively again – meaning anyone on evacuation alert should have their bags packed and be prepared to make a hasty retreat on very short notice.