Fred and Steevie took little time to adjust to their new home at the BC Wildlife Park (Image Credit: Anthony Corea / CFJC Today)

By Anthony Corea

WILDLIFE PARK AID

BC Wildlife Park comes to aid after animal rehabilitation society property destroyed in Summerland Wildfires

Aug 12, 2026 | 4:46 PM

KAMLOOPS – The Bald Range wildfire in Summerland has made its impact locally, as the BC Wildlife Park has taken in new animals evacuated from the Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (IWRS). Thirty animals escaped the flames Friday night, just hours before the blaze ripped through the property.

“We just barely made it out of there,” said Eva Hartmann, founder of the Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society. “There were police coming. They let us know that there is no more time to go back to grab anything. The next day, after the fire in Summerland, we saw a picture of the property from the roadside online and there is just a pile of ashes.”

Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society Property (Image Credit: E.Hartmann / IWRS)

After evacuating the area, the next step was finding new homes for the wild patients. Some animals were deemed healthy enough to be released back into the wild, while others were sent to Kamloops, where there were zero issues taking them in.

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“We work quite closely with the Interior Wildlife Rescue. I’m quite upset that they have now lost their facility because they do take in a lot of things in their area,” said Tracy Reynolds, who is the Animal Care Manager for the park. “Eva contacted me to see if the BC Wildlife Park would be able to house some of the animals that she was able to evacuate. Of course, we definitely can and we have.”

The animals will remain in the facility’s care until they are deemed ready to be released back into the wild. However, the wildfire smoke is complicating that process, not only for the new evacuees but other animals who have called the park home as well.

“Some of the animals we have in our rehab right now, we would have already wanted to release,” says Reynolds. “Just because of the conditions out there, we’re waiting a little bit longer than we would normally because of the smoke and some of the areas they were going into may have been affected by fires.”

For the Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, it will be a long road back after losing their $300,000 facility. The IWRS is taking donations as they work their way back to rebuilding. You can find all the information needed on its website.

by Anthony Corea

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BC Wildlife Park comes to aid after animal rehabilitation society property destroyed in Summerland Wildfires

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