With hundreds of jobs on the line, one of the most desperate battles waged in West Kelowna Sunday was the fight to save a local sawmill.
Ron Gorman, CEO of Gorman Bros. Lumber Ltd., says if it weren't for the work of around 20 mill employees who worked overnight on Saturday, spot fires would have consumed his plant.
"Without people doing the work they did, it would have been destroyed 10 times over," Gorman said.
The plant survived the night, a great relief to its 300 employees. But Gorman's house was not so lucky.
Gorman says he was caught off guard when he found out the fire was spreading into his West Kelowna neighbourhood.
"I was actually at the beach enjoying the Okanagan when I heard," he said. "We got in [to our house] just moments before we were evacuated."
Within minutes, his house was destroyed. But while his family may be mourning the loss of their home, Gorman is trying to keep some perspective.
"The point is I'm here. The house is gone, but we'll be here for some time."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgatt
