South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls is threatened by the Eagle Bluff wildfire near Oliver.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

KELOWNA - For as long as the Eagle Bluff wildfire behind the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls continues to rage, the birds that have made the refuge home will stay in Kamloops.

"All the birds, including Houdini, were safely evacuated Sunday night and transferred to BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops, Houdini is staying with one of our volunteers, we remain on evacuation alert," reads a post from the raptor rehab centre that went up today, Aug. 7.

Houdini, a great horned owl, is the only bird with the rehab centre allowed human contact. He is considered an educational bird and can’t be released.

While the relocation went smoothly, costs associated with the transition will continue to mount and a crowd funding campaign has been launched to meet the needs presented.

"On Monday afternoon the BC Wildlife Park received 28 burrowing owls from the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society's breeding site in Oliver," a post from the BC Wildlife Park reads. "The owls were evacuated due to the South Okanagan wildfire. Both the BC Wildlife Park and the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC are non-profit organizations."

To help them raise a burrowing owl, the donation page is here.

The South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls was registered as a not for profit society in 1988. It is licensed through the B.C. Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and dedicated to rehabilitating injured and orphaned birds of prey for release back to the wild, and to educating the public to the important role raptors play in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. The facility is located in Oliver, B.C. and receives over 150 injured and orphaned birds a year. It is the only facility serving the Okanagan. It is considered one of the best wildlife rehab centres of its kind in the country.

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