'It was scary': Vancouver Canucks' Tyler Myers among Kelowna-area wildfire evacuees

Vancouver Canucks' Tyler Myers waits for a faceoff during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Seattle Kraken in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

One of the thousands of people forced to evacuate when wildfires burned through the Kelowna area in August was Canuck Tyler Myers.

The defenceman recounted the experience of fleeing the fire with his family to reporters after a team skate on Tuesday.

“We had a view of it the night it hit. I didn't have any knowledge about how fast it can spread,” he said.

Myers recalled the dizzying rush out of Kelowna when the evacuation order came in. “Just go, grab the kids, get out of there,” he said. “The whole family got together, we were crashing all in one room.”

The hockey player said he’s witnessed smaller wildfires in the area over the years, but the McDougall Creek blaze was “definitely a different level.”

He added his home survived the fire and his family has since been able to return.

“We got back and a lot of debris and ash everywhere, as I'm sure there was around the whole city, but it was scary for sure,” Myers said.

The wildfire destroyed or damaged nearly 200 properties, and in the wake of the destruction, approximately 405 properties are still under evacuation order in the Central Okanagan Regional District. More than 12,000 remain on alert.

“You feel for all the all the people that were really affected, losing their homes and you see a lot of the, you know, community support from everyone around so it was great to see that and you know, hopefully it can recover as fast as possible,” Myers continued.

“(It’s) still going on, you know, a lot of people still affected but you know the firefighters and emergency responders were pretty amazing and they're still doing a lot of work.”