Glasses of wine still sit perched on a patio table at God’s Mountain Retreat where 28 guests were forced to evacuate Sunday night to escape an encroaching wildfire.
The usually calm and serene oasis at the mountainside bed and breakfast south of Penticton was the scene of panic and chaos last night.
“You could see the whole thing, the other side, you could see the flames coming up and you could see the red,” said owner Sarah Allen, who stayed back to save her property.
The half a hectare wildfire broke out in the hills on the eastside of Skaha Lake around 11:00 p.m.
Armed with a fire suppression sprinkler system and water supplies on site, Allen said she was ready to do battle as the flames crept closer.
“How could I leave this without a really good fight, I’m not going down without a fight!” she said. “We got up on the roof and we were soaking everything. Then we had the fire hydrants there, they are all the way around the house.”
Much to Allen’s relief the fire was quickly contained by forestry crews.
“Conditions are starting to get drier, winds yesterday also helped to push the fire around,” said Ben Sandy with the BC Wildfire Service.
Evacuees were thankful to the total strangers who housed them overnight.
“Nobody slept, we were down at Skaha Park, complete strangers from the community said we are Good Samaritans you know we could put two up in our house,” said guest Susan Actor. “They were texting friends, people were coming down and just taking people off the road and saying here come stay with me.”
Officials say the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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