Exactly one month after the Mount Eneas wildfire threatened homes near Summerland, nearly two dozen of those properties are on evacuation alert again.
Local resident Barry Pickett is now on an evacuation alert because of the Darke Creek wildfire burning north of Faulder.
He said it’s been unnerving being so close to the blaze.
“We went down and you can actually see all the flames and fire on the mountain, so we didn’t sleep much last night,” he said.
“That’s all four corners of the property now that’s had a fire,” he said, adding that the Mount Conkle blaze had been close earlier this summer.
Pickett also had to be evacuated last year because of the Finlay Creek fire, and is still recovering from spring flooding.
“It’s been such a blur the last year. Between the fire, the flood, and now this,” Pickett said.
After last year’s Finlay Creek fire, Pickett said officials made the decision to backburn 45 acres of his property, which he believes caused spring flooding.
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“Because of the fire last year that took out all the property, we wound up having a major flood in the spring, so my house got wiped out inside,” Pickett said. “And I’m still trying to get that back up to snuff.”
“We’re still sleeping in our living room from last year’s fire basically.”
“It’s just nerve-wracking because you’re left to fend for yourself to get the contractors to come and fix things and clean things up,” he said. “It’s just one thing after another.”
Pickett said he was pleased to see firefighters tackle the flames so quickly after the Darke Creek blaze was spotted.
“I’m really, really glad to see that they’ve gotten on this fire and put it out, as opposed to watching it go,” he said.
Twenty-one firefighters, three helicopters and several aircraft are tackling the Darke Creek fire, and officials are hoping it will be held in the near future.
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