West Kelowna firefighters standing by a firetruck at the Okanagan Wildfire Responders gratitude event on April 27, 2024.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

There was an Okanagan Wildfire Responders gratitude event at Memorial Park in West Kelowna today.

There were games and barbecue along with speeches reflecting on last year’s fires and looking ahead to the upcoming wildfire season.

“I certainly acknowledge the bravery and dedication, the absolute commitment of everyone who responded,” Westbank First Nation Chief Robert Louie said in his speech. “Lim'limpt (thank you in Nsyilxcen) to all our emergency first responders. To our firefighters, to the RCMP. To everyone who came together to bring food, coffees, and to attend to evacuations. It was remarkable to see how everyone reached out to support each other.”

BC Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston joined Louie in thanking first responders and told the crowd the province is ready for another difficult wildfire season.

“Today people from the Okanagan are gathered here, together in thanks. The entire province owes a debt of gratitude to firefighters, unsung heroes, and people behind the scenes,” Ralston said.

“Last year was the most devastating wildfire season our province has ever seen. The McDougall Creek wildfire morphed into the largest wildfire in the region. The people in West Kelowna and Kelowna were on the front line,” Ralston said. "The stories of people in the Okanagan touched people throughout the province, the nation, and the world."

READ MORE: Five early season wildfires in Thompson-Okanagan human caused

He said the amount of spring rain this year indicates this summer will be a difficult wildfire season.

“It’s likely to be another challenging wildfire season. I want you to know we are prepared,” Ralston said. “The best fight is done even before a fire starts.”

West Kelowna-Peachland MLA Ben Stewart expressed his gratitude for wildfire fighters, and acknowledged the fact dealing with wildfires is a constant effort.

“In my tenure of 15 years there have been a lot of wildfires in this community and we have a lot of work still to do. We do need to anticipate that we need to continue to be prepared,” Stewart said in his speech.

“Some people don’t think that it’s going to happen in their backyard and it did last year and it scared the daylights out of many people,” Stewart said. “The reality is that a lot of people are still fighting it. I was (where the damage was severe) a week ago looking at the structures, the damage, the rebuilding. It’s a tough thing to recover from.”

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