Three of the 21 cats rescued by firefighters on the Bush Creek East wildfire.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Shuswap Paws Rescue Society

Many residents didn’t have time to collect all their pets while fleeing the wildfire that roared through communities in the Shuswap at lightning speed last month.

The Bush Creek East wildfire flared up on Aug. 18 and tore through the rural communities of Lee Creek, Scotch Creek and Skwlax.

Volunteer firefighting crews working on a restricted access area on Skwlax te Secwepemculecw land are collaborating with the Shuswap Paws Rescue Society to set traps for those pets that were left behind that survived the flames, and bring them to safety.

“We’d be fighting fires during the day and then get home and go set traps,” volunteer firefighter with the Skwlax fire department Alice McGurry said. “After things started easing up a little bit we set up a route and now we have eight firefighters travelling the route on a regular schedule checking traps.”

To date, one dog and 21 cats have been brought into care at the society to be fostered or re-homed.

The idea emerged after crews found a dog in the burned area a few days after the fire ripped through, and brought it to the fire hall.

“The dog’s owners’ house burned down when they were away and had left the dog on a long line, somehow it survived,” McGurry said. “We brought him to the hall and another volunteer member identified the dog as belonging to their parents.”

An pet owner's shirt in an area burned by the Bush Creek East wildfire set up to attract the pet.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Shuswap Paws Rescue Society

The rescued pets are picked up by a volunteer and transported to the care of the society where they are fostered until the owners can be found. Many cats have tattoos that help the manager at the society, Barbara Gosselin, identify them, then members of the band help connect the pets to owners. 

McGurry said residents looking for their pets have reached out to the department which helps determine where to set up the traps. She said the pets are “mostly in good condition.”

“Some cats were in a house and we haven’t been able to find them but the cats that were outside (when the fire went through), those we can find. We found a kitten we called Singey on the leased land by the wooden bridge, a beautiful tabby that had her whiskers singed off.”

While some pets have been returned to owners, other owners have lost their homes and can’t take the pets back, so the society is working to re-home them.

“If their home burned down, some can’t take the pet back in but for them knowing the pet is OK and getting adopted makes such a big difference.”

READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Nothing Happier: Pigs return to mud of Shuswap sanctuary after wildfire

McGurry said people working on the fire are exhausted, but doing the pet rescues “uplifts people.”

“We’re working on Indigenous land where we have community members and band members working together,” she said. “The lease holders gave us some traps to use. Lots of hands are working together to make the work lighter.”

READ MORE: 'Scary as hell': West Kelowna couple lose home and ranch to McDougall Creek wildfire

Barbara Gosselin of Shuswap Paws Rescue Society could not be reached for comment in time for publication.

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