From Kelowna to Fort McMurray: a message of resilience

KELOWNA (NEWS 1130) – Devastating wildfires are something we’re very familiar with in this province, and one of the most serious in recent times was the 2003 firestorm in Kelowna. The former mayor of that city is giving some insight into what it’s like to live through a situation like Fort McMurray is dealing with.

While the initial feelings involve fear and concern, that quickly transitions into resilience, says former Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray, with people in the community coming together in a way they never have before.

“We had about 70,000 people evacuated and some of those evacuated twice,” says Gray. “That was about two thirds of our community. But the thing that’s most lasting with me is the fact that there were, and there will be in the case of Fort McMurray as well, a lot of unsung heroes.

“We all know the obvious, firefighters and things like that. But there are so many people involved in one common cause, and that’s the safety of those people that live there, and in the case of Fort McMurray, those who live there, and hope to live there again.”

Fuelled by powerful winds and an incredibly dry summer, the Kelowna firestorm destroyed more than 200 homes, and at its height was fought by 1000 firefighters and 1,400 members of the military.

“They show their resilience and they also show their love for one another in ways that are almost impossible to explain,” says Gray of how people react to situations like this. “Neighbours will now talk to neighbours they didn’t earlier know very well because now they’ve been through it together, exactly the same kind of scenario — their community, their neighbourhood.

“Over a period of time, at least I certainly observed this in Kelowna, the community became much tighter and in love with one another neighbour to neighbour and neighbourhood to neighbourhood.”

Gray says one of the blessings was that nobody died as a result.