Heather MacKay says she may have lost her rental home and everything inside it, but she still considers herself rich because she has her family.
MacKay left for work on Thursday morning knowing her home was on evacuation alert in West Kelowna and took some important documents and jewelry and left.
sa国际传媒淢y husband said on a scale of one to 10, the chance of us being evacuated was a two.sa国际传媒�
An hour or so later her husband called and said she needed to get home quickly and pack a bag because an evacuation order came down due to the McDougall Creek fire. By the time she got there, the road was closed and she had to trust her husband and two daughters to pack up the necessities and evacuate.
sa国际传媒淭hey couldnsa国际传媒檛 find my swimsuits or my shorts, so I have lots of jeans and shirts I havensa国际传媒檛 worn in a year and my pink power suit and two pairs of underwear.sa国际传媒�
The MacKay family of four was living in a rental home on McNaughton Road and knew there would be nothing to return to after a camera they had set up in a cupboard to catch a rodent, set off a notification that activity was taking place, but instead of a mouse it was smoke billowing before the lens followed by a smoke alarm.
sa国际传媒淲e are grateful that we were able to find out so quickly that wesa国际传媒檇 lost our home. We have friends that still donsa国际传媒檛 know if they have a home or not. Itsa国际传媒檚 not looking good, but they donsa国际传媒檛 know at all.sa国际传媒�
Wedding gifts, handmade ornaments from her kids, and photos were lost in the blaze.
sa国际传媒淢y husband did grab my grandfathersa国际传媒檚 teacup that he knew was important to me, so thatsa国际传媒檚 all I have.sa国际传媒�
MacKay says they do have renters insurance, something they probably wouldnsa国际传媒檛 have even thought about if it wasnsa国际传媒檛 required by the property managers.
The MacKaysa国际传媒檚 have family in Kelowna and Peachland where they are staying temporarily.
A set up by MacKaysa国际传媒檚 sister has raised over $5,000 in just a couple days to support the family that includes two adult children as well as pets.
The challenge now, MacKay says, is finding rental homes in the Central Okanagan they can all afford.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e hoping to find a three-bedroom, animal friendly place for my husband and I and our younger daughter. Then wesa国际传媒檙e also looking for a one-bedroom suite for our older daughter, and thatsa国际传媒檚 probably going to be the hardest one because itsa国际传媒檚 really hard for a single person to pay $1,500 or more a month.sa国际传媒�
Through it all, MacKay has been finding little joys like knowing her family is safe and laughing at what her daughters chose to pack for her.
sa国际传媒淟augh and cry and repeat is my current motto.sa国际传媒�
READ MORE: Smokey with a chance of rain; West Kelowna McDougall Creek Wildfire update
brittany.webster@blackpress.ca
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