Summerland, B.C., farmers got the opportunity on Monday to return to the evacuation zone and care for the animals left behind.
Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham said the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen established a pass system specifically for farmers and ranchers to relocate livestock.
Jonathan Giroux, who owns Garnett Valley Farms told Global News he was able to get in and feed his chickens and pigs who had not eaten since Friday night.
“We’re very pleased to find that there was no fire damage at all… just embers and ash everywhere,” he said.
“Not one of our pigs was harmed.”
Some of his neighbours were not so lucky.
“House burnt down, barn burnt down, livestock lost… it was pretty devastating to see… pretty graphic,” Giroux said.
Displaced farmers and ranchers, plus their livestock, are now scattered throughout the region, finding a field or an empty paddock, wherever they can.
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People missing pets can also call the regional district’s Emergency Operations Centre for assistance.
Growers are also asking to enter evacuated areas to harvest fruit and Popham said the regional district is prioritizing access accordingly.
Neal Vander Helm owns Laughing Coyote Orchards and they were forced to flee the fast-moving Bald Range fire.
He said they have had a nursery in Summerland for about eight years and at the moment, they have about 10,000 trees and pots on the property.
“My farming community in Summerland, we’ve been staying in touch through messages and phone calls and passing along the information we know, from map resources to what they’ve seen and we’ve got people in the fire department that are also farmers, and search and rescue and stuff, what they’ve seen back in town and trying to pass along research and knowledge,” he told Global News.
Vander Helm said the power had been off at the nursery since Friday night and he is not sure if the irrigation system is working.
“I don’t know if the time clocks that run the irrigation are actually operating and I would like to just be able to go and make sure that the water is working and the nursery, in particular, is the biggest concern,” he added.
There are 451 properties under evacuation order and 1,065 under evacuation alert in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
The entire District of Summerland is under an evacuation order, affecting 5,688 properties.
There are also 38 properties on evacuation order on the Penticton Indian Band and 1,082 under evacuation alert.
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