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As green shoots push through the soil, this spring will also herald a rebirth of sorts for some neighbourhoods on the west side of Okanagan Lake.
Homes are about to start rising from the ashes of the McDougall Creek wildfire.
In the community of Royal Heights, on Westbank First Nation land, builder ARG Contracting has been hired to help four property owners rebuild. Work is set to start soon on two of the home sites.
“In the next couple of weeks we’re planning to start excavation. Not this Monday but the next, we’re going to start the excavation process,” said ARG Contracting owner Adam Galbraith, who has been in business in the Kelowna area for the past five years.
Until this point he has been working through the red tape associated with getting the projects off the ground.
“We’ve just been in the part of planning and getting the process approved by strata in that complex and getting the drawings finalized with the clients. That’s a big part of the battle,” said Galbraith.
Elsewhere in the fire-affected area, progress is moving a bit slower. As of March 5, 2024, the Regional District of Central Okanagan had issued 66 demolition permits, but only one building permit in relation to the McDougall Creek wildfire.
The City of West Kelowna has issued 40 demolition permits, with almost half of those buildings having been removed thus far. However, only one building permit application has come in so far.
“I would anticipate that will change given the time of year, and note that we have a plan in place to respond to them as quickly as possible,” said Brent Magnan, director of development approvals with the City of West Kelowna.
One of the property owners working with ARG who is about to see construction begin on his new home is Mike Emslie.
“When we knew our house had burned down the first thing that came to our mind was trying to find a good contractor. The one day we had Samaritan’s Purse over going through what was left of the house, Adam came and met us right on site,” said Emslie.
“My wife and I are very excited to get going with the build.”
One of the biggest challenges for those hoping to rebuild is dealing with their insurance company.
“Some of our clients have been provided a cheque upfront and we are breaking ground on construction, while others are experiencing longer timelines with their insurance providers and are still in the process of bidding and contractor selections,” said Galbraith.
He says there has been pushback from certain insurance providers on covering items such as septic system removal and rebuild. It's also a good idea to check that your policy covers things like living expenses during the rebuild period.
“Ultimately we are working to ensure our clients have their homes back to the way they were, and part of that means advocating for clients through the insurance process to ensure they are not out of pocket on any remediation or building costs," Galbraith said.
In less than 48 hours in August 2023, the McDougall Creek wildfire tore across a large area of the Westside, destroying homes and other structures on close to 200 properties.
