A fundraiser for 13 Central Okanagan volunteer firefighters, who lost homes to wildfire in the past two weeks, has blasted past its goal of collecting $130,000.
Arne Perrin started a GoFundMe campaign to support members of the Wilson’s Landing Fire Department on Aug. 25, as the McDougall Creek wildfire raged nearby.
His goal was to raise $10,000 for each impacted firefighter. As of Friday morning, more than 650 people had donated more than $136,000.
“We’re extremely grateful that we’re able to have the success we’ve had to be able to help these families,” Perrin told Global News on Friday.
“This is a pretty gut-wrenching story for more than half of the firehall to lose their homes while serving the community, and clearly, this is about incredible people who have been willing to reach out and help.”
More than 415 wildfires are still burning across the province, keeping some 4,200 people under evacuation orders and 65,000 more under evacuation alerts.
The McDougall Creek wildfire at the edge of West Kelowna is still burning out of control at more than 13,700 hectares. To date, nearly 200 structures have been lost to wildfire in the Kelowna area.
“I think we can all appreciate that as the fires are quieting in their areas, they’re now facing reality and it’s going to be a very difficult time for them,” Perrin said of the Wilson’s Landing volunteers.
Wilson’s Landing is a rural area roughly 17 kilometres north of West Kelowna, and 5 kilometres north of Trader’s Cove — another wildfire-devastated area.
Perrin said the fundraised cash is meant to serve as a “cushion” as the Wilson’s Landing firefighters rebuild their lives. As of Thursday night, the volunteers were still out in communities dousing spot fires in teams of two — a schedule closer to their routine, but still far from normal.
“I’m sure that for all of these families, they’re needing to arrange accommodations, they’re needing to in many cases just get basic supplies back into their lives and begin the process of healing,” he said.
“Certainly that’s going to take time.”
In an interview with The Canadian Press last week, Wilson’s Landing Fire Chief Paul Zydowicz revealed he is among the 13 members of his department who lost their home. He said most of his crew plan to rebuild on their properties, but some may choose to leave Wilson’s Landing — a community that fluctuates between 500 and 1,500 residents throughout the year.
Zydowicz also said two on his team were injured battling the McDougall Creek wildfire, with one sustaining second-degree burns to his face and the other suffering a fractured wrist. Nevertheless, they returned to work as soon as possible.
“I always knew they were amazing,” he said of his team.
“But now it’s being displayed for everyone, how much integrity and dedication to this job this fire department has, and other departments also.”
The GoFundMe campaign will remain active until Sept. 5. After that, if anyone wants to support the firefighters, Perrin is directing them to the Wilson’s Landing Firefighter Society.