Vancouver Canucks defenceman Tyler Myers was one of the many British Columbia residents affected by the worst wildfire season in recent memory, evacuating his Kelowna home with his family as the McDougall Creek fire spread across West Kelowna.
“We had a view of it the night it hit and, you know, I didn’t have any knowledge about how fast it can spread,” Myers told reporters during the Canucks’ informal skate on Tuesday. “It’s still going on, a lot of people still affected, but the firefighters and emergency responders were, you know, pretty amazing. They’re still doing a lot of work.”
Although born in Houston, Texas, Myers moved to Calgary, Alberta at a young age and has opted to play internationally for Team Canada. Myers has history in Kelowna, spending his junior hockey career with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets with former Canucks teammate Luke Schenn.
“The whole family got together, we were crashing in one room,” Myers said of the evacuation. “You make the most of it, and you feel for all the people who were really affected, losing their homes. But you see a lot of community support from everyone around and so it was great to see that.”
Myers confirmed that, although forced to evacuate, his house was not damaged.
“We got back and [there was] a lot of debris and ash everywhere, as I’m sure there was around the whole city. It was scary for sure.”
The McDougall Creek wildfire sparked on Aug. 17 and has since claimed hundreds of structures, including homes. The fire, while now moving away from West Kelowna, is still burning out of control as drought conditions continue in Western Canada.