Firefighting crews and vineyard workers sprang into action late Thursday evening to save 35 acres of planted grapes used to make wine at Okanagan Crush Pad winery in Summerland.
Steve Lornie bought the 300 acres of land in 2012. He planted row among row of grapes in the Garnet Valley two years later.
Lornie said he always knew the threat of a wildfire in the remote agricultural area between Summerland and Peachland was a possibility, so he implemented a fire plan.
It paid off Thursday night when the 1,000-hectare Mount Eneas wildfire crested the ridge and roared down towards the vineyard.
“We had our hoses, we had our equipment, we had our pump systems set up,” he said.
“We saw it come over the hill yesterday afternoon and it was glowing at dusk and pretty scary,” Lornie said.
When the B.C. Wildfire Service helicopter crew realized they could use a pond that was on site they were able to hit the fire hard along the property line at the Garnet Valley Ranch.
WATCH BELOW: New evacuation centres open up in Okanagan following wildfires
Lornie said aircraft were assisted by forestry firefighters, the Summerland Fire Department and vineyard workers on the ground.
“They certainly saved the northern block of our vineyard,” he said.
The vineyard and around 40 other properties are in the wildfire evacuation zone.
“The fire is still quite a distance away from town, the properties that are under evacuation order out in Garnet Valley remain under evacuation order,” said Summerland Chief Administrative Officer Linda Tynan.
“The fire is very close to some of those homes.”
Sprinklers and irrigation systems are on full blast in the area.
More than 80 additional properties are under evacuation alert.
WATCH ABOVE: Mount Eneas wildfire grows to 1,000 hectares
“When we were coming home it looked like the whole mountain was on fire,” said Susan Kelly, who is preparing to leave at a moment’s notice should conditions deteriorate.
“I don’t want to lose my home,” she said.
The good news is fire suppression efforts are proving fruitful.
A blackened area of scorched Crown land behind Lornie’s property was the result of firefighters conducting a controlled burn as winds shifted in their favour.
Ground crews also built a fireguard in an attempt to establish a perimeter around the south flank.
Meanwhile, the wildfire has damaged power lines. It’s left more than 200 BC Hydro customers in nearby Faulder and Meadow Valley in the dark.
Customers could be without power for the whole weekend, the power utility said.
“Turning the power off doesn’t affect me but, I want my coffee,” Faulder resident Lynn Fletcher told Global Okanagan.
Summerland-area residents are hoping they can breathe a sigh of relief, but many know all too well how conditions can change in an instant.
“Things can change incredibly quickly as it heats up … and the winds shift,” Tynan said.
As of Friday afternoon, 73 evacuees registered at the Emergency Social Services (ESS) reception centre set up at the Summerland Arena.
Comments