On Saturday afternoon, at about quarter to six, fire was noticed burning at 216 Spieker, one of two apartment buildings in the complex.
People quickly began to evacuate the building, grabbing what they could before heading out, but many were prevented from heading back in to grab more belongings, including, in some cases, pets.
Emergency personnel began the process of checking to see that everyone made it out. And while there has been no reports of injuries or fatalities, Mayor Darryl Krakowka says right now they don’t know.
“We know we have 51 apartment units,” says the mayor. “We know there is some vacant apartments. Staff has been working on going through the list. According to CAO Lisa Scott, they pulled the tax roll so we had a list of ownership, and they started the process.”
He says that some people checked in yesterday and today at the Emergency Social Services (ESS) reception centre at the Community Centre and/or in Chetwynd. Those people’s names were added to the list.
But, he says, some of the owners are hard to get a hold of. “I’ll be honest, we can only go by ownership, so we don’t know if they had renters. There might be an owner that lives in Vancouver, for instance and we don’t have contact information other than a mailing address.”
He says staff is still working through the list, but he doesn’t think they’ll be able to get in contact with everyone before Tuesday or Wednesday. “We can say there were 51 apartment units in the complex, but right now we can’t say how many were occupied.”
Until they know that, they can’t say for sure that nobody was still in the building, but as of right now, he says, “we can say that no loss of life has been reported in connection with this fire. However, the investigation is still ongoing. There was no injuries reported for residents and no injuries to emergency personnel either. So that outcome is great.”
While the apartment has yet to be inspected by a fire inspector, he says he went down there for a tour with the fire chief, and he expects the building will be a total write-off. Still, he says, that’s just his opinion. “Obviously we still have to wait for the insurance to do their job and, they’ll bring in an engineer and I could only see what we see from the outside, but there’s nothing left.”
While he was down there, the wind picked up and the right side of the building started to fall down.
Krakowka says the process is being helped out by many people. “The realtors have been helping identify some of the vacant properties,” he says. “Our fire department definitely deserve a pat on the back. I think they did an awesome job,” he says. “BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) was already in the community, so they were able to help with a brush fire that started almost immediately. They were able to put in some water lines last night [Saturday night] for the fire department, too. We had Dawson Creek sending a pumper truck yesterday evening, as well as Chetwynd. There is a mutual aid agreements, and this shows that it’s a good thing to have when we have this kind of a structural fire. The fire department has tools that they can reach out to. And the fire truck from Conuma also attended.”
And then there’s the people helping out, socially. A member from the ESS team in Hudson’s Hope was able to come to town from 3:00 to 7:00 on Sunday, and they were able to extend the amount of aid being given to 72 hours.
The were also distributing certificates for food, and clothing—“obviously, it’ll be tough to get that here in town, So people will have to go to Dawson for clothing.”
He says this is where the community really shines. “So many community members got together to help. And I say residents and community members, but to me, we’re more like a family. I said that in 2023 during the evacuation, and I believe that we are one big family. Maybe we don’t always get along, but we’re a family.
He points to Bryce Kirby and Eric Owen over at 242-BREW who have been collecting donations for people. “I’ve seen some of the pictures from the conference centre, and its pretty overwhelming the amount of donations they’ve received. Too much, even. Now they’re looking for specific things like pet food.
He says people have been asking if they can donate funds to the people who have been displaced. Right now, he says, they’ve put up tins at the tills at Freshmart, but he’s hoping there will be a bank account set up at Lake View Credit Union for people to donate money.
Krakowka asks if you are displaced and you haven’t checked in, please do so. “The phone number is 250-242-1529. If you are an owner of one of the apartments in the building, even if it was vacant because you’re from Vancouver or Grande Prairie or Prince George, if you haven’t been contacted by the district staff, please call that number. Let us know that you’re the owner of whatever suite number and that it was empty, or who the renter was, and if you’ve heard from them.
Finally, says Krakowka, while there is no reports of human injuries, he is aware that many people were unable to retrieve their pets. “I talked to some residents—to some of our family—today who are still looking for their pets. Were they left inside and didn’t get out, or did they manage to get out and are now in hiding right now? I’ll be honest, I’m not sure.
Krakowka says he knows that pets are not just animals, but are family members for many. “We might just think it’s a cat or a dog or a bird. But for many people, Those are family members.”
Krakowka says the district learned a lot during the 2023 fire, but they’re still not perfect.
“People on Facebook are talking about how they’re leaving cat food out. They’re leaving water out in the porch and stuff like that. And people have posted about a couple of cats who are running around. “Are they from the apartment? I’m not sure. But we are just asking that people, keep an eye out. If you see an animal, whether it’s a cat or a dog, pass that on to bylaw, at 250-242-3939.
Above photo: A member of BC Wildlife Services walks through the smoke blowing up from the forest fire between the Speiker apartments and Monkman Avenue.
For more photos see article posted when fire first broke out: https://tumblerridgelines.com/2025/06/07/216-spieker-destroyed-in-fire-no-reports-of-injury/
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
