Shuswap farmer and volunteer delivered free corn to evacuees during wildfire crisis
A farmer in the Shuswap donated over 600 cobs of fresh corn to people impacted by the Bush Creek East wildfire with the help of a retired RCMP officer.
Bill Crozier, retired police officer and volunteer for the Shuswap Emergency Program, came by Forrest Shuster’s farm in Carlin during the Bush Creek East wildfire in August, according to a Columbia Shuswap Regional District press release.
“He (Crozier) asked about the possibility of a donation,” Shuster of Destiny Acres Farm said in the release.
Due to the Trans-Canada Highway closure, Shuster was unable to sell a lot of his corn leaving him with plenty to spare.
“He showed up at the right time with the right question,” Shuster said.
He'd sent his workers home when the wildfire jumped the highway on Aug. 18. Shuster, along with his niece and nephew, picked and bagged all 600 cobs themselves and gave them to Crozier to distribute.
Crozier drove the corn to Anglemont and St. Ives. He said volunteers were continuing to cook for firefighters even though they had lost power.
“When I retired from the force, my view of humanity was quite shaded,” Crozier said. “It’s a shame that it takes a tragedy like this to reinstate my faith in humanity, in that it brings the community together.”
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