They say if you love something, set it free – and that’s what farm owners Tianna Bowthorpe and McKenna Robson had to do when faced with evacuations during the Summerland wildfire.
Bowthorpe lost her home and had moments to decide what she was going to do about her six horses, four chickens, and four dogs.
“The police came up the driveway telling us, ‘You have to get out. Leave now,’” she said.
“So we did what we thought was best. We got our senior horse out, thankfully loaded quickly. We have a beautiful vineyard behind the house, so we opened the gates. The horses know that area well. The five horses that were left were there, hopefully enjoying the water, and we just prayed and hoped for the best.”
Robson was met with a similar dilemma at her alpaca farm. She was on the road, driving back from a trip, when she learned the fire had reached halfway down her property.
She made the difficult decision over a call, advising her friends and family of what to do.
“I said, ‘Let’s just take down the fencing, any way possible,’” she said.
“I knew we would not be able to get them out of there. So I said, ‘Any tractors that we have, clippers, open the gates.’ We were on FaceTime, and I was watching them do everything possible that they could to free my pets – my babies to me.”
Although it meant she wouldn’t be certain of their future, she believed it was the best thing she could do.
“Let’s hope they can get loose. Let’s hope they can get away from this fire that’s right here. Just stay cooler than how hot it already was up there.”
Robson found shelter in Penticton and was worrying about her fur babies, when she got word of their sighting.
“I got word from a couple people on Saturday that they were okay,” she said.
“When I finally got to see them, I got their favourite treats on hand, water, I had everything I possibly could at the time to give them. I think all of us thought a miracle happened.”
It was a similar story for Bowthorpe.
“Thanks to Alert and their amazing team of people and sharing on Facebook and all that, all the horses have been found and located and are safe with us.”
While both are grateful their animals are safe, they’re now facing an uncertain future without a home for their animals and are leaning on their community for support.
But they’ve both learned that sometimes when you let something go, it can find its way home.
