‘There is nothing there now’: Oliver farmer takes major hit after structure fire

Black smoked billowed into the skies north of Oliver, B.C., on Sunday afternoon after structures on an agricultural farm caught fire.

Sukhminder Khangura, who operates the Rama fruit stand, said a trailer housing a farm worker ignited on a separate property on Island Road where he grows fruits and vegetables.

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Khangura, who isn’t sure how the fire started, estimates losses totaling $400,000.

“Everything in there, all the tools, my office, my five-ton truck, one motor home and a dump truck,” he said of what is lost to the fire.

“I’m feeling really sad, there is nothing there now,” he said.

Khangura said the farm is a family operation. They have harvested fruits and vegetables to sell at their fruit stand for the past 20 years.

0:29 Oliver Fire Department quick to knock down brush fire

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He’s in the process of finding alternative accommodations for the displaced worker.

Noel Linda Berkland witnessed the raging inferno from La Casa Bianca winery. She posted a video to social media that shows thick smoke and sirens blaring in the background.

Global Okanagan has reached out to the Oliver Fire Department for comment.

More details to come