Despite losing his home and fire hall to the Bush Creek East wildfire, Darren Reynolds and fellow North Shuswap firefighters continue doing the work that needs to be done to protect their communities.
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) recently shared Reynolds91Ƶ harrowing account of late Friday afternoon, Aug. 18, when strong winds pushed the out-of-control wildfire into North Shuswap communities including Scotch Creek. A member of the CSRD91Ƶs Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Reynolds explained in a video shared by the CSRD that he and fellow firefighters were at the wooden Scotch Creek bridge, helping to remove danger trees. With the 91Ƶfire all around us,91Ƶ they fell back to the fire hall. That was just before 91Ƶall hell broke loose.91Ƶ
At the fire hall, Reynolds said the plan was to regroup, get hoses back together and then get to work on spot fires. This was with the knowledge his home had already been lost to the blaze 91Ƶ something he learned from his son Nathan and Nathan91Ƶs partner Savannah, who are also Scotch Creek/Leek Creek firefighters.
91ƵI knew we had lost our property because he was just down that street. He watched it happen.91Ƶ
The wind died down, offering a 30-second lull before it picked up again, 91Ƶand chunks of stuff were flying out of the sky on fire, and the trees were just sideways, the embers were incredible 91Ƶ we couldn91Ƶt breathe or nothing (sic), trees were candling right beside us, our hall was on fire, we watched the trailer court just get ripped apart, just explode,91Ƶ said Reynolds.
It was then they headed to the beach, 91Ƶbecause we thought we were going to die, simple as that.91Ƶ
Once on the beach, they were transported by lake to safety. Three days later, Reynolds returned to his fire-ravaged North Shuswap community and has been there since, even though his home was flattened in the blaze.
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91ƵIf you91Ƶve seen my property, it was moving so fast, it just turned everything to dust basically,91Ƶ said Reynolds. 91ƵI91Ƶve never seen anything like that but now I can honestly say I have and I don91Ƶt think I want to again.91Ƶ
In a CSRD media release accompanying the video, Reynolds points out like himself, other North Shuswap firefighters have lost their homes and are 91Ƶstill going hard.91Ƶ
91ƵThis is my neighbourhood. I don91Ƶt have another neighbourhood. And nobody should have to go through this. It91Ƶs pretty ugly91Ƶ,91Ƶ said Reynolds, noting the selfless actions of firefighters helped people to escape the blaze.
91ƵPeople don91Ƶt understand that. They think they should all come first. Sorry, it doesn91Ƶt work that way91Ƶ,91Ƶ said Reynolds. 91ƵIf I didn91Ƶt think the way I do, I would have said 91Ƶto hell with the bridge91Ƶ and I would have went (sic) and protected my house. Instead, I don91Ƶt know how many thousands of people we got out of here.91Ƶ
newsroom@saobserver.net
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