鈥淚 haven鈥檛 done this before and it鈥檚 exceptionally stressful.鈥�

That鈥檚 what Painted Rock Estate Winery owner John Skinner had to say as the Christie Mountain fire continues to rage nearby.

He said the work and the speed with which the B.C. Wildfire Service and various fire departments responded to the blaze was impressive, but he and his wife are taking it day by day when it comes to the future of the winery.

Skinner said he saw the fire spark at 2 p.m. on Tuesday (Aug. 18) as he was standing on the front lawn of the tasting room.

鈥淚 saw the smoke down towards Heritage Hills, and we鈥檙e five kilometres north, but within two hours, those planes were at the ridge above our winery fighting the fire,鈥� he said.

鈥淭hat was frightening. And given that experience and seeing how fast the fire is, I鈥檓 not making any assumptions about the winery right now.鈥�

He said fire crews have been on the ground near the property trying to protect it and dousing smaller fires nearby and that fire retardant had been sprayed in the surrounding area as well.

鈥淎 lot of the smoke and flames were moving down Gillis Creek towards us and it was very frightening, and they dealt with it all. And most of that has been pushed at least a kilometre behind us now.鈥�

With the forecasted high winds tomorrow (Aug. 21), Skinner said they鈥檙e not sure what to expect.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e reasonably well-protected, but honestly, we鈥檒l have to see what happens tomorrow,鈥� he said.

鈥淐rews have done a really good job up until this minute and I鈥檓 really impressed with how their talent and ability, but we鈥檙e gonna have to see what happens鈥� let鈥檚 just hope nature takes it easy on us tomorrow.鈥�

Fortunately, Skinner and his family don鈥檛 live in the area and didn鈥檛 have to worry about evacuating personal belongings, but still, their business remains at the fire鈥檚 edge.

鈥淲e bear witness to the fire when we go to the winery to assess the situation and it鈥檚 been quite an experience.鈥�

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