Houses of 13 fire fighters burnt in forest fire

The chief of a small rural fire department in the B.C.'s Okanagan area says 13 members of his own crew have lost their homes while fighting wildfires this season.

Wilson's Landing Fire Chief Paul Zydowicz says members of the department still continued their fight to extinguish the wildfire.

Their homes were among 181 destroyed around Okanagan Lake last week.

Zydowicz says those who have lost their homes will be cared for by emergency support services.

Much of the area in the west of the lake is still under evacuation orders.

It is worth noting that there are currently about 370 wildfires active in B.C. and about 18,000 square kilometers of land has been burnt so far.