Community resident Sandy Diaz stepped out of her home on Friday and was told she could return later in the day, but was forced to stay out for the night, leaving her husband, who suffers from dementia, alone in the home. “Who makes all these rules?” she asked in an interview with CTV News. “I’m here waiting for permission. Imagine, a license they will take me to go home,” he added. As of Saturday, 547 properties were ordered to be evacuated, including the entire community of Olalla. An additional 1,050 were on alert, including the entire village of Keremeos. Other local residents also report feeling frustrated and confused, including Kudrat Mundi, who runs a fruit stand on Keremeos Bypass. “It’s a bit worrying,” she said, adding that her business starts to struggle shortly after the closure of Highway 3A, which runs through both Olalla and Keremeo. “Business has slowed down a lot. It’s actually been kind of creepy how quiet it’s been lately,” he said. “We have a lot of fruit that will start to go bad if we can’t continue to sell it,” added Mundi. She said 18 people work at her store and are prepared in case they need to leave immediately. According to BC Wildfire, 426 firefighters are currently on scene working tirelessly to contain the spread. They are supported by 15 helicopters and 42 pieces of heavy equipment. The fire remains at 5,903 acres and its cause is unknown. Part of the challenge in containing the fire is the terrain, according to Taylor Shantz, information officer with the BC Wildfire Service. “Crews are working very hard, but it’s also hard work and it’s hard to get engines, crews in,” he said, adding that the wind has not picked up to fan the flames further. “This is favorable for us to have our crews working and to be able to put in emergency lines. Anytime you have strong winds, that’s just going to provide more oxygen to the fire and fuel more aggressive behavior,” Shantz explained. For Diaz, patience ran out and she refused to wait any longer to return home, despite the evacuation order. She was eventually granted special leave to care for her husband and was escorted back home by the RCMP. “Thank you! Thank you so much! Happy ending. I’m going home!” she said before returning to her property. However, it is not clear how much longer he will be able to stay there as the fire is getting closer to the community by the day.
