Don Blakely
Text credit:
Paraphrased from the Salmon Arm Observer, August 19, 1998
Feature Photo:
Search and Rescue’s Don Blakely was involved in the evacuation.
Photo credit:
Jon Ottesen, c. 2006
Photo credit:
1. Coralie Nairn, c. 2012
Don Blakely’s friends at Search and Rescue worked to evacuate people from Silver Creek.
As smoke and flames closed in, a brave group knocked on doors to get residents out of the area. 17 year old Cory Woods was part of the group.
On a second time through an area clearing out residents, Woods saw a new Jeep parked in a driveway.
Woods and his friends saw a woman run to her Jeep and back into the house. The woodpile at the back of the house was on fire and the flames were coming closer.
“It was pretty bad,” Woods said.
It turned out the woman was looking for her cat. The Search and Rescue team found the cat, threw it in the Jeep and took off just in time.
1. Don Blakey is always ready to help!