Denare Beach residents share words of advice for Summerland wildfire evacuees

Denare Beach, which had a population of approximately 825 residents before last year’s wildfire, lost 230 homes, representing nearly half of all residences. Werbicki explained it was a gut-wrenching experience returning to the village and seeing all of the destruction.

“Just driving down the road to get to Denare Beach, you just see everything is different,” she said.

“The road you have driven 1,000 times, it’s different. You get to the community you have lived in for 26 years, and you don’t even know what street you live on anymore because it looks like a war zone. You get to where your house was, and it’s just ash. Everything you have worked for, everything you have accumulated your whole life is gone. It’s just devastating; it really is.”

Rhonda Werbicki and her family are in the process of rebuilding their home. (Image Credit: Submitted photo/Rhonda Werbicki)

Werbicki noted in the days, weeks and months after Summerland residents are able to return, they should allow themselves days to grieve, be mad and unhappy. She added they will also need to allow themselves to be vulnerable and accept help from others.

Werbicki also advises residents to prepare as soon as possible for dealing with insurance companies.

“Just to document everything. Do it early. I didn’t do things early enough and it’s really hard to remember and think about things as the time goes,” she said.

That advice was also shared by Denare Beach resident Joanne Churchill, who also lost her home in last year’s wildfire.

“Insurance is a whole other monster. It’s definitely the worst part of the situation,” she said.

“We are still dealing with insurance, but the main thing I wish I would have done sooner is start my contents list as soon as possible because the longer you wait, the more you forget about what’s in your house because you get caught up with rebuilding and everything else.”

Joanne Churchill and her family purchased an RTM and moved in Dec. 24, 2025. (Image Credit: Submitted photo/Joanne Churchill)

Churchill recommends Summerland residents to also not rush the process of rebuilding. She encourages them to check with the municipality about lot restrictions, so they’re not having to deal with zoning issues after they have already made a deposit on constructing or bringing in a new house.

“A lot of people were preordering the houses not knowing the restrictions and then being told later they can’t put the house on the lot because it’s too close to the lot line or whatever else,” Churchill remarked.

“There are still quite a bit of people who are dealing with that, so I’ll just tell them before they order anything, talk to the village and make sure everything is OK before you actually put down a deposit because it will save you lots of headaches in the future.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

by Derek Cornet

Denare Beach residents share words of advice for Summerland wildfire evacuees

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