Trudy Schweb owns a fifth-generation ranch in the Hullcar area, directly below the Hullcar Mountain wildfire.
Schweb and her family, including her husband, Warren, her son and in-laws, are currently on evacuation alert due to the wildfire — which is burning right across from their property. The past few days have been freaky for the family, though Schweb says she’s feeling better now.
“There's just a lot to lose, right? You know, you build this ranch up, and you take it over from the last generation, and you have all these dreams, and a fire comes in, and it can finish you off pretty fast," she said.
Schweb and her neighbours have been watching the fire since Aug. 4, the day it sparked.
She saw the lightning strike that started the wildfire, which has since grown to 700 hectares. She and her neighbours were willing to go fight the fire themselves after seeing the strike, but were limited by the terrain.
“Warren's mom and dad used to range cattle up here, and Warren was born and raised here. So he knows the mountain like the back of his hand. So he knows exactly where all the roads are, but there was no way that we could get to it, so we were kind of hooped that way," she said.
The property is a ranch, and, thankfully, the family doesn’t have many cattle on their property right now.
As the fire continues to grow, the family has contained all the animals in one area so they’re easy to transport if needed.
“We're just going to chase them down the driveway and put them out in the hay field so they'll be safe there but until then, they're OK where they're at," Schweb said.
As the Okanagan remains in a drought level 3, Schweb says she’s worried the province will shut off their access to the Salmon River, which she said would cut off their ability to irrigate and buffer the fire.
The property is located in a valley between the mountain where the fire is burning and stretched to a number of structures. Schweb suggested the property could act as a buffer area for the fire, but could also act as a mustering point for fire crews to set up camp.
“We're waiting for the next announcement of where we are with the drought. But we really do feel that now is not the time to be shutting people like us off. We are providing a safety zone,” said Schweb.
The Hullcar Mountain wildfire remains burning out of control and has been classified as a wildfire of note by the BC Wildfire Service.
