‘Reduced to ash and rubble’: Winnipeg man loses home in Kelowna wildfire

A Manitoba man living in B.C. says he’s still in shock after his home was destroyed by wildfire last week.

Derek Krywyj moved to Kelowna a year and half ago to pursue a career in carpentry. He was at work last Thursday afternoon when he heard about the wildfire alert.

“By the time I got home from work there was growing concern that this fire was moving quickly, the winds were picking up,” Krywyj said.

His mother was flying in from Winnipeg to visit, and Krywyj had to pick her up. He packed a small bag of his belongings, gathered his important papers just in case, and drove to the airport.

The flight was delayed, so Krywyj had to wait until 1 a.m. for his mother to arrive. “I could see from the airport, over a mountaintop so to speak, the flames, the glow of fire where I had lived,” he said.

Krywyj had been renting a suite at Lake Okanagan Resort, located on the west side of the lake just north of Kelowna. “It was a beautiful place to live, right on the beach. I loved it.”

He said the resort has been completely destroyed by fire. “Somebody had gone on to the lake with a boat and taken some photos of it, and it’s reduced to ash and rubble,” said Krywyj.

Now homeless, Krywyj and his mother stayed with his girlfriend’s family for a few nights until he was able to get to the evacuation centre.

“They gave me a voucher for a hotel for a couple of nights, food for a couple of nights,” Krywyj said.

He has been given four days’ worth of hotel and food vouchers, after which he must apply for more.

Krywyj said the volunteers have been amazing. “Once I actually got into there and got to have a conversation they were very patient, understanding, empathetic, so I’m grateful for that.”

He still feels like he’s in shock.

“I’m going to try to go to work Monday, take it day by day, try to keep busy,” said Krywyj. “I can’t change anything so I just gotta try to make some money and hopefully figure it out.”