Book looks back on wildfire and raises funds for good causes

A book showing the experiences of people impacted by the White Rock Lake wildfire in the Vernon area is being released to support two great causes.

Virginia Dansereau was a volunteer with Emergency Support Services (ESS) in Vernon during the fire when she started writing down stories and quotes from people who came in seeking help.

White Rock Lake wildfire near Vernon in summer of 2021. (Photo credit: BC Wildfire Service)

She told Vernon Matters while recording those experiences, she met two other volunteers, Sue Urquhart and Heather Clay, who were doing the same thing on their own.

Together the trio decided to publish a small book entitled ‘Smoke and Ash: Reflections on the 2021 Vernon B.C. Area Fires’ about the massive wildfire containing photos, paintings, short stories, experiences and poems from about 40 contributors.

Highway 97 Pedestrian Collision

Person struck by vehicle in Kelowna did not succumb to injuries

6h ago

Provincial Election

Former mayor of Enderby to run as an Independent this October

8h ago

Second-Degree Murder

Trial date for accused in Lumby murder case still not set

16h ago

“The photos, of course, are depicting all sorts of ways of people looking at the fires, some of them with the red sky, some with the black sky, some with helicopters, and we have a painting of the water bombers that came down and around to the lakes,” said Dansereau.

“We have poems that are matching up with some of the photos and the paintings and they’re describing their experiences, and there are some quotes from people and some excerpts from people’s journals.”

Dansereau told Vernon Matters that some of the contributions come from people directly impacted by the fire, including a man who lost his home, and some related to Okanagan Indian Band’s (OKIB) fire fighting efforts.

Glow of White Rock Lake Fire along Okanagan Lake in summer of 2021. (Photo credit: Submitted/Facebook)

Despite the impact the fire had on people’s properties and both mental and physical health, there is a message of resilience shown in the book.

“It’s kind of interesting with the photographs because as we went through them there were so many devastating photographs but then there were some really beautiful ones,” said Dansereau.

“So what we have done is try to end the book with five or six pictures that are really gorgeous, and it ends with this one picture that has geese swimming in Okanagan Lake within the smoke, and it’s titled ‘Moving On’ and it’s kind of like a feeling for the way we have to keep on moving and get things together.”

Dansereau said Smoke and Ash will be made available at Teach and Learn and will hopefully go up at some museums and art galleries, but will also be released to the public.

“We are going to have a book launch on April 23 at the Elks Lodge 45,” said Dansereau, adding that they hope to have all or most of the contributors join them for the launch.

The sales of the book will go to support the Okanagan Indian Band Recovery Fund and the North Westside Fire and Rescue Society.

Smoke and Ash is already available on Facebook, and to date, Dansereau has already sold nearly 200 copies.

She noted that the printing costs are all covered by community sponsors, allowing for more money to be raised to support the causes.