McDougall Creek Wildfire as it raged through Traders Cove on Aug. 17.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kevin Moffat
August 24, 2023 - 11:40 AM
In 2021, Paul Zydowicz helped fight the destructive White Rock Lake Wildfire as deputy chief of the Wilson’s Landing Fire Department.
Last week, as fire chief, his crews were overwhelmed as the McDougall Creek Wildfire tore through his community.
“Two years ago, as we worked the White Rock Lake fire, we thought at the time it was the biggest fire of our lives,” he said at a news conference today, Aug. 24. “It pales to what we just experienced.”
His department covers an area along the west side of Okanagan Lake north of West Kelowna. It includes the neighbourhood of Traders Cove, which was decimated by the fire, and Lake Okanagan Resort, which was destroyed.
“I would like to thank the members of Wilson’s Landing Fire Department that I’ve had the immense honour of serving with,” chief Zydowicz said. “Our community has suffered an incredible blow. Thirteen of our members have lost homes yet, from the very first spark, you’ve shown up and fought this fire while your own homes were burning behind you.”
According to the regional district’s website, the Wilson’s Landing Fire Department has about 25 members.
Zydowicz's crews had more time to prepare for the White Rock Lake Wildfire that destroyed about 80 homes in the Ewings Landing and Killiney Beach areas.
READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: The devastation left behind by the White Rock Lake wildfire near Vernon
“This fire (McDougall Creek) started on Wednesday and was in my community in 24 hours or less,” Zydowicz said. “Although we had vehicles staged and prepared for most of the day Thursday for its arrival, it came a lot faster than anyone expected.
“It came with a ferocity that none of us have ever seen. We were in Traders Cove preparing for spotting and Traders Cove basically exploded around us. We were prepared, in Wilson’s Landing, to deal with a structure or two on fire at one time. We were dealing with 10 to 15 on fire within five to 10 minutes of ignition.”
The McDougall Creek Wildfire damaged 90 properties. It’s not yet known how many homes were destroyed. Lake Okanagan Resort, on its own, had 195 units.
There are about 175 homes and cottages in the area served by Wilson’s Landing Fire Department, according to the Regional District of Central Okanagan’s website. That means as many as half the homes could be gone.
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