The word came in the late afternoon Thursday. Residents of a trio of popular mobile home parks, each on the north bank of the Similkameen River several kilometers west of Keremeos, were given their evacuation orders.
The Crater Creek wildfire, which just a couple days earlier was two separate fires before extreme wind and extreme temps merged them into a single mega-blaze that seemingly stretched ten kilometers or more east to west, was getting too close for comfort.
Spot fires, each likely caused by airborne embers, had appeared on the mountainside directly across the river. And as the winds whipped up once more Thursday and the temperature continued to hover in the mid-30s, they'd grown in both size and number.
Back in Keremeos, the fruit stands that mean so much to that town's economy and tourism trade were empty. To be clear, the proprietors, for the most part, remained on duty. But the would-be customers were nowhere to be found amongst the stifling smoke that lay like a blanket over the community.
But here to the west, at the site of the Sunkatchers Co-operative Membership Recreational Vehicle Park and adjacent Lucky R Mobile Home Park (and a ways down the road at the Riverside Mobile Home Park), the actively was much more intense.
People were told to leave, and leave they did. Well, most of them. Not all were convinced it was time got go. And they had the right to stay if they so choose.
One person who opted to adhere to the order was Anne Cameron at the Lucky R. Cameron has resided with her hubby at the park since 2006, and loves it. As do most of the people we've spoken with at Similkameen River mobile home parks.
But that didn’t stop her from leaving.
"They came by this afternoon and said there'll most likely be an order to evacuate," she said, "so it was time to get our stuff ready and go.
Cameron's husband drove the vehicle ahead of hers as we spoke. He took the couple's cat and dog and a number of possessions, while she kept her car free for their neighbor, who does not drive and also owns pets.
"But she didn't want to go," said Cameron. "So what can you do? I love her dearly, but I can’t make her go. I pray to god that nothing happens to her."
Cameron recalls the last time a wildfire got this close, saying it was 2009 when "that whole mountainside over there was on fire."
"But that wasn't really a problem," she added, "because they were letting it burn up. But this one's a little closer to my backyard. It's come much further toward us since Tuesday (when the fire dramatically flared up).
Cameron said the couple would spend the night at a friend's home before assessing the situation in the morning and possibly moving to the Emergency Shelter opened Thursday afternoon in Penticton (at 199 Ellis St.) after the Keremeos equivalent was closed (due to the proximity of the fire) earlier in the day.
Next door at the Sunkatcher, the vast majority of residents has already taken leave by the time we chatted with one of the few who didn’t, 76-year-old Robert Williams.
Williams isn’t some guy who thinks he knows better than the authorities. He's fully packed. He moved his propane tank, which he uses for his furnace and stove, away from the premises. And he's ready to evacuate if the fire moves closer.
But he has what he believes is a good reason for staying.
"There are about five of us who aren't leaving yet," he said. "There's one lady in here who's sold her place and is moving out. So she needs help loading the truck that one of the guys here is providing. So we’re staying to help her with that."
The woman in question will be out by Wednesday. And by that time, the 15-year Sunkatcher resident hopes, "it's all over."
"I even canceled my doctor's appointment for tomorrow morning because if I go out, they won’t let me back in here," he added with a laugh.
For Williams, the word came just two hours before we spoke.
"There were two policeman and a lady who I think was with the district," he said. "All three of them were very kind and filled me in on how things worked. And there was no pressure to go.
"They said, 'We think you should go.' But they can't force me."
