Tuesday evening has experienced an onslaught of fires igniting in locations around the Okanagan-Similkameen area. One neighbourhood in Kelowna discovered that one of the stray fires had spawned just beyond their yard boundaries at around 8 p.m.
After hearing a clap of thunder too close to home, a group of Kelowna residents banded together to stop a fire that ignited near their residences in Magic Estates.
"It happened near my parents house, they saw [lightning] and heard a huge crack of thunder, so we're pretty sure it was lightning-caused," explained Samantha Cullen.
"We saw the smoke kind of coming over the trees, so we got in my dad's truck and went over there right away."
Photo Credit: Samantha Cullen
The fire had started behind a neighbouring house in a small brush fire that did not produce much flame but caused a haze of smoke, explained Cullen. Neighbours from around the community rushed to extinguish it.
Photo Credit: Samantha Cullen
"Everyone was out there with shovels and hoses and one or two fire extinguishers and everyone was helping put it out."
Photo Credit: Samanthat Cullen
The group fought with the smoke for about 10-15 minutes, said Cullen, at which time the Fire Department showed up. By then, the group had all but suffocated the last bit of smoke emitted from the grass.
Photo Credit: Samantha Cullen
