Wildfire evacuee tells B.C. premier, 'Come out here and have a look at what really happens'

Vancouver -

A B.C. wildfire evacuee wants Premier John Horgan to see first-hand the devastation caused by this year’s fire season.

Sonja Dougan and her family were forced from their home at Killiney Beach on Sunday as fierce winds caused the White Rock Lake fire to spread further east, reaching the edge of Okanagan Lake.

“My home is the only one in my direct neighbourhood that was left standing, (but) with all the smoke and heat damage it’s just not livable,” Dougan said. “All my neighbours' homes are burned to ash.”

The fire devoured nearly everything in its path, including at least 70 buildings in the communities of Ewing and Killiney Beach. Video from a boat on the lake shows the immense destruction.

The fire has been burning since July 13 and is now estimated at more than 81,000 hectares, about seven times the size of the City of Vancouver.

Dougan says her community was monitoring the situation for weeks but believed fire crews were on top of it. After the blaze reduced homes to ash, she questions the decision making of fire fighting efforts.

“(The fire) smouldered up in the mountains for days, it was something that could have easily been put out by a ground crew and not a single soul was up there. I feel like we were being lied to,” she said. “We thought we were fine because it was so far away and we believed in our hearts that the province was putting that fire out and they weren’t.”

Dougan added she believes it was a case of poor management from the top.

“It’s not our local firefighters, we are so grateful for them,” she said. “We know they did everything they could but they are just people and they’re not in charge."

She also called on Horgan to "come out here and have a look at what really happens."

According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, 263 firefighters are working on the White Rock Lake fire, in addition to the 143 structure protection personnel, helicopter pilots and heavy equipment operators. Many have spent days, even weeks, sleeping in fire camps

Fire information officer Erika Berg with the B.C. Wildfire Service says crews on the ground are “disappointed” to hear criticism they aren’t doing enough.

“It’s unfortunate to have to see that,” Berg said. “Fire fighting is really hard work and it’s tough to come home at the end of the day and see those conversations being had.”

Winds and temperatures in many fire zones have eased in the last 24 hours. Berg says crews are using the window of opportunity to “re-establish containment lines.”

On Wednesday afternoon, evacuation alerts and orders were rescinded for 435 properties on the west side of the fire. Some orders and alerts had been in place since July 14.