Forest Fires Destroy Homes

British Columbia Almost Lost a Whole City to Fire in 2003!

The idea for Genie Blocks^® came about during the 2003 fire season in BC when a comment was made that had those log homes been made with concrete logs, they'd probably still be standing. The concept made sense and a new product was born.

The province of British Columbia, Canada saw its worst fire season ever recorded during the fire season of 2003. Forest fires in the Okanagan area, specifically City of Kelowna, were devastating.

The fires started on August 16th from thunder strikes, burned with such ferocity and unpredictability and a large number of residents were forced to evacuate the area. By August 29th, 13 days later, the fires were 70% contained and most evacuation alerts could be lifted. With hundreds of homes destroyed and millions of dollars of property lost, it is one of the costliest fire the city has seen for years.

5,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the suburbs of Kelowna itself and in the nearby community of Naramata 1,000 residents were also on evacuation alert throughout the ordeal. These figures do not encompass the whole scope of the situation as many other homes and businesses as well as some historically significant trestle bridges were also lost.

The following photographs highlight the enormous devastation.

Photo Credit: Chris Loeppky

Photo Credit: Bill Watt

Photo Credit: Evan Batke

Photo Credit: Evan Batke

Photo Credit: Larry_Lefebvre

Photo Credit: Steve Devries

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