As massive B.C. wildfire raged, groups worked to rescue livestock, animals

When the Bald Range wildfire sparked near Summerland on Friday afternoon, thousands of residents prepared to leave their homes.

However, the Summerland area is home to many farms with livestock and once the area was put on evacuation order, all those animals needed to get out.

One group, who has been responding to fires across the interior in the last week, rushed to help.

“We jumped in our trucks and come here, and we’ve been 24 hours now straight,” Kaz Nowlin told Global News.

He is part of a small group banding together to save as much livestock as possible in Summerland.

“When we figured it out this morning, we were at 52 horses, 25 goats, six sheep, couple dogs, some cats,” Nowlin added.

A couple in the Summerland horse riding community is also working around the clock, helping get animals out of the area.

“It’s everything. It’s not just horses; it’s been chickens, goats, it’s a wide variety, right, and people love their animals and we understand,” Chelsie Lesnoski told Global News.

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Social media was flooded with posts calling for help locating animals set free as the flames closed in.

In some cases, the animal will come back to their home when the danger has passed.

“The second rescue that we did was the same thing,” Nowlin said.

“They had come back to their corral after everything was safe, and you know, horses are pretty smart. They’ll come back.”

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Video of Bald Range fire shows rapid fire growth

The B.C. Livestock Producers Co-op has opened its Okanagan Falls stockyard to house cattle, with more space available in Kamloops.

They said the Co-op can help arrange transport.

“Getting into some of these areas that are being hit by the fires can be difficult just to pick up the cattle, even if the producers do get them gathered and corralled and ready to be loaded out,” Cordy Cox with the B.C. Livestock Producers Co-op said.

Cox said that while B.C.’s ranching and livestock industry is spread out, it is tight-knit.

“They back each other up and open their doors,” she said.

“So places, ranches that aren’t being hit, they open their pastures and their fields and their feedlots and any space that they have.”

With the fires still burning, Nowlin said he will keep answering calls for help.

“If you know that it’s going to come your way, just give somebody a call. We’ll come and get them,” he said.

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