Heather MacKay says she may have lost her rental home and everything inside it, but she still considers herself rich because she has her family.
MacKay left for work on Thursday morning knowing her home was on evacuation alert in West Kelowna and took some important documents and jewelry and left.
91裸聊视频淢y husband said on a scale of one to 10, the chance of us being evacuated was a two.91裸聊视频�
An hour or so later her husband called and said she needed to get home quickly and pack a bag because an evacuation order came down due to the McDougall Creek fire. By the time she got there, the road was closed and she had to trust her husband and two daughters to pack up the necessities and evacuate.
91裸聊视频淭hey couldn91裸聊视频檛 find my swimsuits or my shorts, so I have lots of jeans and shirts I haven91裸聊视频檛 worn in a year and my pink power suit and two pairs of underwear.91裸聊视频�
The MacKay family of four was living in a rental home on McNaughton Road and knew there would be nothing to return to after a camera they had set up in a cupboard to catch a rodent, set off a notification that activity was taking place, but instead of a mouse it was smoke billowing before the lens followed by a smoke alarm.
91裸聊视频淲e are grateful that we were able to find out so quickly that we91裸聊视频檇 lost our home. We have friends that still don91裸聊视频檛 know if they have a home or not. It91裸聊视频檚 not looking good, but they don91裸聊视频檛 know at all.91裸聊视频�
Wedding gifts, handmade ornaments from her kids, and photos were lost in the blaze.
91裸聊视频淢y husband did grab my grandfather91裸聊视频檚 teacup that he knew was important to me, so that91裸聊视频檚 all I have.91裸聊视频�
MacKay says they do have renters insurance, something they probably wouldn91裸聊视频檛 have even thought about if it wasn91裸聊视频檛 required by the property managers.
The MacKay91裸聊视频檚 have family in Kelowna and Peachland where they are staying temporarily.
A set up by MacKay91裸聊视频檚 sister has raised over $5,000 in just a couple days to support the family that includes two adult children as well as pets.
The challenge now, MacKay says, is finding rental homes in the Central Okanagan they can all afford.
91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e hoping to find a three-bedroom, animal friendly place for my husband and I and our younger daughter. Then we91裸聊视频檙e also looking for a one-bedroom suite for our older daughter, and that91裸聊视频檚 probably going to be the hardest one because it91裸聊视频檚 really hard for a single person to pay $1,500 or more a month.91裸聊视频�
Through it all, MacKay has been finding little joys like knowing her family is safe and laughing at what her daughters chose to pack for her.
91裸聊视频淟augh and cry and repeat is my current motto.91裸聊视频�
READ MORE: Smokey with a chance of rain; West Kelowna McDougall Creek Wildfire update
brittany.webster@blackpress.ca
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