Volunteers Rescue 100+ Animals From B.C. Wildfire Zones

Kaz Knowlin hasn't stopped moving since the Bradley Creek wildfire ignited on July 31. For eight straight days, the Lumby volunteer has been driving into active fire zones across British Columbia's Okanagan region, pulling terrified horses, sheep, goats, and chickens to safety while flames burn just meters away.

"The horses are stressed. They're distraught. You can see it in their eyes," Knowlin said Sunday while coordinating permits to enter Garnet Valley. The heat is crushing, the smoke is thick, and the animals are too frightened to cooperate, but Knowlin keeps going back.

He's not alone. Hundreds of neighbors have mobilized to help as wildfires displaced 20,000 residents and forced a provincial state of emergency. When people had to flee with minutes of warning, many had no choice but to leave their animals behind.

McKenna Robson released 14 alpacas into the wild, painting phone numbers on their hoofs with nail polish and praying someone would find them. Jane Long Haggerty evacuated 10 horses, five goats, and nine other animals before fire jumped the roads on both sides of her property, trapping her husband for terrifying hours.

On Sunday alone, Knowlin rescued two mares, a newborn foal, a gelding, and several chickens from properties where fire was closing in. He transported them to Feedway Stables in Penticton, where they joined dozens of other rescued animals. Some horses remain in paddocks with sprinklers running, phone numbers painted on their flanks, waiting for rescue crews to get permits through closed roads.

Christine Coletta, owner of Garnet Valley Ranch Winery, evacuated twice in one night with 10 employees and one horse. Five horses too skittish to load stayed behind near a pond with plenty of grass. "They have been sighted," she said with relief from Penticton, where community members opened their homes to her team of temporary foreign workers from Mexico.

The Ripple Effect

The rescue effort showcases what happens when crisis brings out the best in people. Larger wineries are sharing resources with smaller ones. Families are housing strangers and their animals. People who haven't spoken in 20 years are calling to offer help.

"Everyone here is resilient. We are tough. We are here for each other," Coletta said. Her words capture what's happening across the Okanagan as volunteers risk their safety to save animals that families consider part of their own.

Knowlin plans to keep rescuing as long as animals remain in danger, running on almost no sleep and pure determination. For every family wondering if their horses survived, volunteers like him are the answer to their prayers.