Several ranchers are banding to help one another as the Anahim Peak wildfire in the West Chilcotin approaches their properties.
“The fire is moving on the east side of the Dean River Road today,” Janet Carley said Sunday afternoon, adding there are 70 km winds in the forecast for their region.
“We have everything packed and ready to go if we need to run. The fire has been unpredictable and hasn’t done what’s expected at any point.”
She and her husband Myles Carley moved there just over a year ago.
Janet said it is tough because before they moved to the ranch in April 2022, their house burned down in Saskatchewan in November 2021.
Yesterday they sent their adult children who are in their 20s out and opened up all the fences for the cows.
“We moved 20 horses on Thursday. It is just me and my husband and dogs here now.”
On Tuesday, July 11, they got a call that the fire had popped up and crossed the Beef Trail Road.
Her husband’s parents and her best friend were visiting so they sent them home Wednesday.
Structure protection crews rigged up the house on Thursday and the three ranches on their road banded together and have been helping each other prepare the properties as best as they can.
“The community has been amazing and very supportive and helpful with anything we need.”
On Saturday evening July 15, the Cariboo Regional District issued an evacuation order for the area due to the Anahim Peak fire.
As of July 15, the fire was estimated to be 1,120 hectares and suspected to have been caused by lightning.
“Now it’s coming [the fire] for all of us from the forest side and that is hard to impossible to defend. We all hoped it would come from the northwest as it started to because then we could fight in the meadows and open fields.”
READ MORE: EVACUATION ORDER: Anahim Peak wildfire area in the West Chilcotin
READ MORE: B.C. Wildfire fighting 29 active fires throughout the Cariboo-Chilcotin
monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
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