Image Credit: Contributed
February 18, 2024 - 6:00 PM
A documentary is being filmed about Penticton's Search and Rescue volunteers and will depict the new role the team has taken on as wildfires worsen in the South Okanagan.
Cam MacArthur is a filmmaker originally from Penticton and with $21,000 Telus STORYHIVE grant he's making a documentary.
MacArthur and his team hope to raise awareness about the vital organization.
"They need more help, so, hopefully, this will lead to more volunteers and maybe some more donations," MacArthur says. "That is always the goal in filmmaking: to dig a little deeper, go beneath the surface and wait around for the interesting stories that aren't always expected and we hope to have that be the case with this film and I think it will be."
MacArthur met Brandyn Steele, who happens to not only be a search and rescue volunteer, but also a documentary producer, gave him the access they needed to start the project..
"The story has really turned into a story about wildfires in the Okanagan because search and rescue has been pulled in to cover evacuations," he said. "I got to see a little bit of that and it became really obvious that that was the story."
He said as wildfires become bigger and more common the need for search and rescue's services will continue to grow, adding in that respect the documentary will be an awareness piece on climate change.
As pre-production on the film is wrapping up, the team is expecting to cover the search and rescue volunteers this summer and the role they will play in what is expected to be a another busy wildfire season.
If all goes according to plan, the documentary should be ready in 2025.
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