Three weeks ago, we left Lightning Rock not knowing exactly what we would come back to.
The Bald Range Fire forced the evacuation of our winery, our homes and much of our community. For some families in Summerland, the losses have been devastating. People lost homes and possessions, businesses were disrupted and families were displaced.
Our hearts remain with everyone who has been affected.
For Lightning Rock, we were incredibly fortunate. Our winery and vineyards are standing, our team is safe, and today we get to do something that seemed a long way away a few weeks ago:
We get to open our doors again.
There are a few people we especially want to recognize.
Our winemaker and vineyard manager, Sébastien Hotte, was evacuated along with his fiancée and their young children.
Whenever access was permitted, Sébastien was back checking our properties. He checked the winery, staff housing and vineyards, kept an eye on irrigation and the vines, helped neighbouring farms and vineyards, and made sure our restaurant and private liquor store partners received wine when we were able to get it to them.
All of this while looking after his own evacuated family.
Harvest doesn’t stop getting closer because there’s a wildfire, and neither do vineyards. We are very fortunate to have Sébastien looking after ours.
Our Wine Shop and Tasting Room Manager, Harpreet, was also evacuated. Rather than sitting on the sidelines, she went to work helping others.
Through Penticton Rotary and JCI Penticton, Harpreet spent long 12-14 hour days volunteering and helping feed people affected by the evacuation and fire.
Tracy spent countless hours cleaning and helping get the winery back into shape so we could safely reopen and get ready for harvest.
Ron spent much of the evacuation working with the District of Summerland, provincial government, and emergency officials on problems affecting farmers and wineries throughout the evacuation zone.
For agriculture, limited access isn’t simply an inconvenience. Vineyards and orchards still need irrigation. Crops need to be protected. Livestock needs care. Harvest was approaching.
Ron worked with officials to push for a more practical agricultural access system that would allow farmers and essential workers to reach their properties while still respecting the restrictions required to keep everyone safe. Eventually, improved agricultural access was put in place, allowing Sébastien and other agricultural workers to do more of the work that couldn’t simply wait until the evacuation was over.
There was another problem affecting wineries well beyond Lightning Rock.
Mission Bottle Wash, an important part of the Okanagan wine industry’s bottle supply chain, was caught inside the affected area. Without access, wineries throughout the region faced the possibility of running out of bottles and disrupting bottling schedules at one of the worst possible times of year.
Ron worked with the District, Agriculture Minister Lana Popham’s office and others to help find a solution. It became a good example of what could happen when industry and government worked together to solve a very practical problem during an emergency.
It has been an extraordinary few weeks for a very small team.
One of the things we’ll remember most from these weeks is how many people reached out.
We received emails, phone calls, texts and messages from across British Columbia and Canada asking if we were okay and what people could do to help.
Many of you placed online wine orders.
Others went looking for Lightning Rock at your local private liquor store or ordered our wines at restaurants.
Our restaurant and liquor store partners continued supporting us and ordering our wine during a period when our own tasting room couldn’t welcome a single customer.
Those things mattered.
To everyone who ordered a bottle, sent us a note, checked on our team, shared one of our posts or simply told us you were thinking about Summerland: thank you.
And to the firefighters, first responders, emergency personnel, volunteers, neighbours and community organizations who worked incredibly long hours throughout the fire, our gratitude is difficult to put into words.
We also want to thank the government, municipal and emergency officials who listened when we brought forward problems and worked with us to find solutions. During an emergency, not every decision will be perfect, but we saw people willing to pick up the phone, listen and try to make things work.
Reopening doesn’t mean everything is suddenly back to normal.
There are people in our community who have lost far more than a few weeks of business, and there are local businesses, farms, wineries, cideries, breweries and restaurants that lost an important part of their summer season.
One of the simplest ways to help is to come to Summerland.
Visit the businesses. Eat at the restaurants. Buy local wine, cider and beer. Stay for an afternoon or a weekend. And if you’re elsewhere in BC or Canada, look for Summerland and Okanagan products where you live or order directly from the producers you enjoy.
If you’re able, you can also support wildfire relief directly through the SOS Wildfire Response Fund or Mamas for Mamas – Fire Support, both of which are helping Summerland families and workers who were hit hardest.
Small businesses survive because people choose to support them.
Today, Thursday, August 27, the Lightning Rock tasting room is open again.
We’ll be here 11 AM to 5 PM every day through Thanksgiving.
The vineyards are still here. Harvest is getting closer. There is wine in the tasting room. And after three weeks of talking to far too many people through phones, emails and social media, we’re very ready to see some actual faces again.
Come by for a tasting. See how the vineyards are doing. Say hello to the team.
Most of all, come enjoy Summerland.
We’re incredibly grateful to be home.
Ron, Tracy, Sébastien, Harpreet and the Lightning Rock team