Hear and see the faces of the Kelowna firefight

The thousands of Kelowna residents evacuated because of the Clifton/McKinley wildfire may be back in their homes but the firefighting efforts continue.

The Kelowna Fire Department is still sending crews to work alongside BC Wildfire teams to deal with any issues to ensure there are no unpleasant surprises for those returning residents.

“We had a good day out on the line. There were a few hot spots that we had to action,” Lieutenant Diano Zol, a 20-year veteran with the department told Kelowna10 Thursday evening after returning to Station #1 following their task force’s day shift.

They were handing over to another task force who would set out to do the same vital work overnight.

Asked about the sense of achievement following an extremely challenging week, Zol said it was good to see people going home.

“It’s been a long week …especially those first few days. Not a lot of rest,” he explained. “People were out of their homes for a week, and I can’t imagine being away and not knowing how it’s standing and what your neighborhood looks like. It’s a good feeling.”

Zol’s first week on the job 20 years ago was during the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Wildfire.

He admits time had made him forget some of those challenging days, like the tough smoky conditions and breathing in dust stirred up when putting out hot spots.

It’s because of the collective efforts of firefighters and BC Wildfire crews, and the many who came from out-of-town departments, that Kelowna residents are back in their homes one week on from the dramatic scenes on the east side of the lake when the blazes sparked in high winds.

“I’m very happy that [the personnel numbers] are what they are today,” Deputy Fire Chief Dwight Seymour said, noting the shift Thursday needed only 11 people with four vehicles.

Just a few days ago they had a total of 140 personnel battling the blaze with 40 items of apparatus.

“When we look back on the week, yes, we lost some structures, and as firefighters we take every one of those to heart … but what’s more important is that within a week a fire of this magnitude, this velocity, we’ve got our community back into their homes with zero fatalities,” Seymour said.

For Lieutenant Zol and his colleagues who are still going out every day and night to ensure the public’s safety, Thursday marked a special milestone.

“It’s great people are back in their homes. We thank them for their support. There were a lot of honks when they were coming back into their neighborhoods, and waving at us and that was a good feeling for sure.”