Chief of Small Okanagan, BC, Brigade Says 13 Firefighters Lost Own Homes to Blaze

A firefighter directs water on a grass fire burning on an acreage behind a residential property in Kamloops, B.C., on June 5, 2023. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

The chief of a small rural fire department in B.C.’s Okanagan region says 13 members of his own crew have lost their homes while fighting wildfires this season.

Wilson’s Landing Fire Chief Paul Zydowicz says wildfires burning on the west side of Okanagan Lake have been a “nightmare” due their speed and intensity.