Wildfire Relief for Kingmik Dog Sled Tours

Summers are usually the off-season for sled dogs and those that care for them, a time to rest and recharge before heading into the busy winter season. Not this year though.

As the BC wildfire emergency encircled the summer kennel in a literal ring of fire, with out of control fires to the west, north and east, the staff at Kingmik knew they needed to spend their summer preparing for the worst.

Caring for the dogs is our full time job and always our top priority. Our full days with the dogs got longer as we took on extra projects to protect the land. Many weeks were spent clearing trees, building sprinkler systems, keeping the wild grasses short, assembling and filling water reservoirs and many other precautions were taken to help mitigate the fires damage.

With the fires fast approaching and no forecast of rain, the property was issued an evacuation order. With personal belongings packed and the dog gear organized, all the dogs were loaded onto the trucks and headed out to a safe farm away from the fire threat to wait out the storm.  The dogs have spent the summer on the move, from a safe haven in southern BC to eventually the far east of the province where there was much less wildfire threat. It has been hard on them but they are now thrilled to be back home despite the dramatically changed landscape

The fire prepping that was done earlier in the summer was thankfully enough to protect the main residence at the kennel, but other essential buildings on the property were lost to the fires including staff quarters and dog houses.  The fence line, which is a safety considerations because it keeps cattle and dogs separate, is gone and in need of reconstruction. Being surrounded by ranch land, the fence is a critical component of the kennel, as of right now there are cows all over the place, intruding on the dogs personal space and acting like they own the place.  The dogs used to roam freely on the property, they would potter around in safety, yet now, they await the departure of the dreaded cows before they can return to the schedule they are accustomed to. Fencing is critical. 

 Structures aside, there are countless kilometres of trails now needing maintenance because they are buried in fallen charred trees. Clearing the dangerous trees is very time and labour intensive.  And most noticeably 24 of the dogs 26 acres of homeland at the kennel have been consumed by the fire, changing the landscape forever.  The fires also  left the property without power for a couple weeks, resulting in the loss of frozen dog food in multiple extra large chest freezers, a mandatory asset now lost and the cleanup ain't pretty. 

Donations will be used to help rebuild the staff residences that were lost in the fire, cover the wages for extra personnel and gasoline needed to go out and chainsaw a path through the dog sledding trails that have been compromised by the fire and  address the fence line and freezer food. Yes, there is some insurance, but it will in no way cover the cost of the losses and damages. 

Any contribution helps. We are so grateful knowing our network of friends, family and acquaintances are helping us through this truly novel and challenging time.

In times like this we are reminded of the importance of community.

From the literal ashes, we now look to the future. To a time when we can look back on this devastating event and see it as a reminder of just how strong we are, a story highlighting the vitality of our community and how gifted we are to have each other.

Thank you all for being a part of the Kingmik family