UPDATE: 11 dogs rescued in busy night for Okanagan firefighters

Lake Country firefighters rescued three adult dogs and eight puppies from a house fire yesterday afternoon.

Lake Country Fire Chief Steve Windsor said no one was home at the house fire on Hallam Drive around 4 p.m. yesterday, June 17, but they managed to save the pups.

Windsor said the top floor of the home was completely destroyed.

"It had gotten into the attic of the house, when we got the call we could actually see it from the Winfield fire hall," he said.

Three adult dogs and a litter of eight puppies were inside the home when the fire started. Neighbours went inside the home and saved the puppies while firefighters saved the three adult dogs.

"Crews got on scene and we found the two adult dogs fairly quickly and got them out. The third adult dog which was the mother of the puppies actually was on the top floor and we weren't able to find her initially because the roof was caving in," he said. "Ultimately our crews did find her, she was in bathroom sort of hidden behind a toilet in about a foot of water."

Firefighters used a pet resuscitation mask and she was sent to the Fairfield Animal Hospital overnight but is expected to make a full recovery.

"She was a very lucky dog," Windsor said.

About 25 firefighters, roughly half of the firefighters in the district, fought the blaze. Crews were on scene until roughly 10 p.m. last night, Windsor said.

An investigation into the cause of the fire will be held today.

Meanwhile, Kelowna firefighters were called to a bush fire in the 2600 block of O'Reilly Road around 7 p.m. where they found a large fire in trees and grassland. Kelowna Fire Department Platoon Captain John Kelly said the fire grew to 350 feet by 350 feet before they got it out and were able to keep it from spreading to a home on East Kelowna Road. 

They were called out again at 5:20 this morning, June 18, to another small bush fire in the Hardy Road and Spall Road area below the cemetery. The fire, believed to be from an abandoned campfire, was quickly extinguished. 

Yet another fire started in the hills above Naramata last night. The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen had few details but last night said the "small fire" is off Arawana Forest Service Road and is not threatening any structures or property and doesn't appear to be spreading.

— This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. Friday, June 18, 2021 to include new information from Lake Country Fire Department.

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