Realtors' association announces $500K donation for wildfire relief in B.C. Interior

The McDougall Creek wildfire burns on the mountainside above a lakefront home, in West Kelowna, B.C., on Friday, August 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The professional association that represents more than 2,600 Realtors in the B.C. Interior is making a large donation to support wildfire relief efforts.

The Association of Interior Realtors announced Friday that it would be donating its members' September dues, and matching the total with association funds.

The total amount comes out to more than $500,000, the association said, adding that the donation will be split evenly between the Salvation Army and the Canadian Red Cross.

Many members of the association were directly affected by the wildfires that swept through the Okanagan and Shuswap regions last month, some of which are still burning out of control.

The association says some of its members – including a volunteer firefighter who joined the wildfire fight – lost their homes in the blazes.

"The association is proud to be representing these members and all Interior Realtors across our regions – from Revelstoke to Kamloops, through all of the Okanagan, Kootenays and up to South Peace River regions – who have stepped up to help these communities in various ways; some by opening their homes to evacuees, while others through volunteering with local community organizations and donations," a statement from the association reads.

In the Kelowna area, nearly 200 structures were destroyed or damaged, with most of the destruction caused by the McDougall Creek wildfire on the west side of Okanagan Lake. 

In the Shuswap, an even greater number of buildings were affected, with the total reaching more than 300 structures destroyed or damaged across the Columbia-Shuswap and Thompson-Nicola regional districts, as well as the Skwlax te Secwepemculecw First Nation. 

"We know that this does not even come close to what relief is needed, but we hope that this contribution will provide some much-needed support to all the communities impacted by these wildfires and the many lives of those living in them who require assistance at this heartbreaking time,” said association president Chelsea Mann, in the statement.