Killiney Beach Residents Still Struggling With Utilities After Wildfire | The Canadian News

Although it has been weeks since those evacuated from the White Rock Lake wildfires were able to return to their homes in the Killiney Beach area, the area looks very similar to when the fire swept through the community.

After dozens of houses were burned to the ground, some locals who stayed said it’s like being in a ghost town.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s like a bomb went off,” Estamont resident Marvel Hughes said.

The siding on Marvel Hughes’ house melted when the wildfire swept through Estamont, but he considers himself one of the lucky ones.

“He missed us. It just missed us. I don’t know why, ”he said.

Still, like many others, he has yet to permanently return home.

“Basically, we don’t have a proper fridge. We have a small fridge. We have water. We have hydroelectric power, but there is no television or the Internet, ”Hughes said.

Lisa Hesby watched on surveillance video as sparks flew across her front porch.

She credits the fireboat that saved her home, but her neighbors weren’t so lucky.

Cleaning services have been hard to come by, Hesby said.

“Getting suppliers, contractors, is not enough,” he said.

Neighbors who lost their appliances hope to wait months for replacements, he added.

“This whole place is devastated,” he added. “It’s really quite depressing to watch.”

“Having people driving is unnerving, looking at us, because you don’t know if they’re there to choose what’s left of your life or not,” Hesby said.

Meanwhile, Killiney Beach is still under a water ‘do not use’ order.

“It has been very difficult because our friends are gone, the houses are gone and it is very difficult,” said Karen Morris, a Killiney Beach resident. “We cannot drink the water. We are getting septic odors. “

“But we are one of the lucky ones so I really can’t complain.”

“I want to say that we feel very guilty that we are still here because it is the survivor’s fault,” he added.

Central Okanagan West Director Wayne Carson said the regional district is in recovery mode and working to restore infrastructure and services, including water for Killiney Beach.

The regional district is awaiting approval from Interior Health, he said.

Moving forward, Carson wants the community to rebuild following the Fire Smart program and also to install sprinklers for structural protection.

“This is not a volcano or an earthquake or a hurricane, this is a forest fire,” he said. “It’s about forest management and structural protection, and that’s what we need to address to move forward with our rebuilding.”