Finding the Phoenix

An evacuee tells her harrowing, unforgettable story of fleeing the largest and most devastating fire in West Kelowna’s history.

August 2023 saw the worst wildfire season the province of B.C. has ever recorded. A major contributor: the McDougall Creek wildfire, which expanded rapidly into an inferno of such terrifying proportions (13,970 hectares/34,522 acres) that firefighters feared it might be unstoppable.

Over the next few days, 35,000 residents were evacuated. Among them was author Judith Hutchinson-Lepore, her husband Lorenzo, and their intrepid Australian shepherd, Oliver. This memoir chronicles their month-long odyssey, enduring nomadic living, emotional turmoil, and the agonizing uncertainty of whether their house had survived.

But it is also a story of hope: Finding the Phoenix and rising from the ashes. A testament to the courage of the 500 firefighters from across the province who risked life and limb to fight the blaze; the dedicated leaders of West Kelowna; and the determination of a community banding together to overcome an unimaginable catastrophe.This mesmerizing account serves as both a cautionary tale about natural disasters on the rise, and an inspirational tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.