ON EDGE: Watching and waiting while wildfires burn

SUMMERLAND – A Summerland couple on the edge of the Mount Eneas fire were breathing easier yesterday, but realize they’ve got a ways to go before their property is out of danger.

Ken and Janice McDowell witnessed a spectacular light show last Tuesday night as the storm cell that started the Okanagan’s fire season passed over their vineyard, located on Bridgeman Road north of Summerland.

With a sweeping view of the east side of Okanagan Lake, they could see just about every lightning strike between Naramata and Squally Point.

“One strike hit right across from us, near Naramata,” Ken says, pointing to some rising smoke midway up Okanagan Mountain.

“Naramata fire department was conducting a practise, so they immediately responded. It was great, because it burned right up to a guy’s house and they were able to put it out. There was another one, to the north, they really worked hard on. It’s still going, but just some smoke. They had eight of those amphibious water bombers doing the "daisy chain” one right after the other. It was really interesting,” he says.

Ken pointed out several other locations where fires ignited Tuesday night, some still smouldering.

“Last night when the wind came up, Indian Rock (north of Naramata) had a power failure. It was really weird, all those glowing fires up there,” he says.

Ken was just finishing up in the vineyard on Wednesday when the Mount Eneas fire really got going. He phoned Janice, who works in Kelowna, to tell her she should probably think about heading home.

“It still took me five and a half hours to get home,” Janice says.

Traffic was stopping and starting, just crawling, most of the way home, with flames crossing the highway,” she says.

They watched anxiously through Wednesday night as the fire grew.

Then evacuation notices were issued for North Beach and Callan Road.

“The sky was just orange, shifting. The fires were also going across the lake,” Janice says, adding she began to gather important documents.

She talked to Ken about hooking up the trailer, who then realized the battery that raises the trailer to the hitch was dead.

“Yesterday, all we were doing was watching the smoke. It was a pretty calm day until winds picked up in the afternoon,” Ken says adding the two drove down the road towards Punta Norte Bed and Breakfast to see where the leading edge of the fire was.

Once home, Janice called the fire department, who said Bridgeman Road was next on the list. They received an evacuation alert Thursday afternoon.

“It’s weird today. The wind is blowing, but there isn’t any smoke,” Ken said, looking at the sky yesterday.

“The fire seems to have moved up the mountain,” Janice says, adding she had heard fire guards and back burns performed last night were holding the fire in check.

“I just keep thinking about the weather, and when it changes, how quickly it can get away. Sparks can travel so far,” Janice says.

The two have partially packed their trailer and have important records and the computer ready to go.

“We really don’t know how much to bring,” Jan says as the couple prepare for an anxious summer.

“We’re back into the heat next week, and that’s a scary thing. If the winds pick up, things could take off. We’re going to be like this for a while,” Ken says.

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