While nearly all residents in Kaleden were allowed to return home at around noon Wednesday after a fire threatened dozens of structures, not everyone was lucky enough to have a home to return to.

Russell Layton鈥檚 parents own the one home known to have been affected by a blaze that sparked in Kaleden late Tuesday afternoon, but they had been staying at another property in Okanagan Falls.

An initial evacuation order late Tuesday afternoon had 18 homes , while over 160 were on alert. That evacuation order was lifted at around noon on Wednesday, allowing all remaining property owners to return home.

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Layton said his parents stay in Okanagan Falls over the summers, while he stays at the Kaleden property, but he was working when the fire ignited, finding out about the fire in a call from his father.

鈥淪o my buddy came and picked me up and we tried to come down here to get my truck out of here and my car out of here, but they wouldn鈥檛 let us through, so I just had to sit out there kind of helpless,鈥� Layton said.

鈥淚t was more wondering what鈥檚 going on, right? You don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen, I don鈥檛 know where the fire鈥檚 coming from if it鈥檚 already taken the house and all the vehicles. That was my main concern.鈥�

A friend provided a phone number for Layton to call from the Kaleden Fire Department, and a firefighter informed him that all of his vehicles and his boat were fine, but the house had been destroyed.

Before heading to a friend鈥檚 place to spend the night, Layton said he and some friends decided to try some side roads to catch a glimpse of the fire and see the extent of the damage.

鈥淲e drove along Eastside (Road) and didn鈥檛 see anything and thought, OK, let鈥檚 see if we can get down into Kaleden to see what鈥檚 going on,鈥� Layton said. 鈥淲e got down here and the fire department鈥檚 like, 鈥榃ell, how did you get down here?鈥欌��

Despite losing his home, Layton had a sense of humour Tuesday afternoon about managing to get past the police and fire officials at around midnight, laughing about the incredulous reaction from the fire department.

鈥淚 asked if it was OK to look (the house) over, and he kind of guided me around, and it was a just utter shock. Because when I tried to come down here, I wanted to grab some valuables and I wasn鈥檛 allowed,鈥� Layton said. 鈥淟iterally everything that had value to me and my parents is gone.鈥�

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Layton, who was cleaning up with a pair of friends Tuesday afternoon, said it was lucky that his parents and their dog were in Okanagan Falls when the fire sparked.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e about the same as me. They鈥檙e upset. But there鈥檚 nothing you can really do; the damage is done,鈥� Layton said. 鈥淭ime will tell to see what happens.鈥�

Layton said he鈥檚 mostly curious about how the fire started to get a bit of 鈥減eace of mind鈥� on what took his home away.

Fire officials said on Tuesday that the fire is believed to be human-caused because it wasn鈥檛 caused by lightning. But an official cause of the fire is likely to be a long time coming, with crews still on mop-up on the fire.

Acting Fire Chief Denis Gaudry said on Wednesday that the fire is 100 per cent contained at this point, meaning crews have managed to ensure the 6.5-hectare wildfire likely won鈥檛 spread beyond its current boundaries, save for unforeseen circumstances, like sudden high winds.

But Gaudry still expects some days of work to be done before firefighters can leave the area, with embers flying around and igniting small, smouldering patches. The patchy nature of the fire has meant difficulties for the department, as it has meant a lot of hiking around and searching for what could be small flames or a little smoke, hardly visible until it spreads.

Still, Gaudry said on Wednesday afternoon that he was feeling good about the work that firefighters had done. That work isn鈥檛 lost on local residents, with everyone who spoke to the Western News giving high praise for the firefighters鈥� work.

While Layton wasn鈥檛 so lucky, at least two nearby homeowners, both within metres of Layton, said the fire just skirted their properties, with both losing a combined three sheds.

鈥淚t probably started somewhere 300, 400 metres south of us. And with the strong winds, it came on our property really quickly. Probably within seconds,鈥� said Larry Richardson, Layton鈥檚 next-door neighbour.

Dan Wiebe鈥檚 daughter鈥檚 family lives across a small gully from Richardson and Layton, but Wiebe and his wife had arrived at the property mid-afternoon on Tuesday after celebrating his 75th birthday.

With his daughter and her family away, Wiebe said he and his wife were the only ones at the property at the time of the fire, which he said moved 鈥渉orrendously fast.鈥�

鈥淚 heard (my wife) screaming at me, 鈥楪et up here.鈥� She said, 鈥楽omething鈥檚 wrong: looks like fire,鈥欌�� Wiebe said. 鈥淪he couldn鈥檛 believe her eyes. 鈥� Looked like the whole forested area and orchard part was blazing.鈥�

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Wiebe said they 鈥渟aid a quick prayer鈥� and headed to the other side of the lake to watch the fire with binoculars, at one point watching one of his daughter鈥檚 sheds catch fire.

鈥淪ick,鈥� he said of the feeling being away from the property while the fire was burning. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e totally lost your appetite.鈥�

Meanwhile, Richardson said he made his way back into Kaleden to help out in any way he could.

鈥淲hen I arrived, the flames were 20, 30 feet in the air,鈥� Richardson said. 鈥淚 came through the blockade to try and save what we could because I was told we probably had lost everything. So, I needed to see for myself, and the house was still standing. So, it was get to work right away.鈥�

Richardson said it wasn鈥檛 entirely an act of God that his house didn鈥檛 catch fire.

鈥淥ur house didn鈥檛 burn because several years ago we did Hardie Board and metal roof,鈥� he said, adding that it was a conscious decision about 12 years ago due to the high risk of fires in the area.

Wiebe, too, said some preparations may have saved his daughter鈥檚 house, though perhaps of a more coincidental nature.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 very interesting about it, our kids left yesterday morning. Overnight, they had run a sprinkler on the roof, thinking, 鈥榃ell, we鈥檝e got to wet this thing down just in case something happens,鈥� Wiebe said.

Still, the blaze made for an uneasy Tuesday night for Wiebe and his wife, who stayed at their son-in-law鈥檚 parents鈥� place in Penticton.

鈥淟ast night wasn鈥檛 good. It took a while to get to sleep, and I was very restless,鈥� he said.

鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 on my mind how awful this is.鈥�

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