On a smoky late evening last week in upper Peachland, crew members of the production team of a feature film borrowed three horses from members of the Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance.
Parts of the locally filmed work, I’m Not a Bad Person, involve a wildfire as the backdrop, and since forest fires cannot be safely replicated, the producers have spent two years chasing and filming authentic wildfires “to get the perfect shot.”
The perfect shot involved evacuating horses, spray painted with emergency phone numbers, escaping the raging fires through a smoke filled forest. With the help of some non toxic hair spray and three obliging equines, the shot was a winner even though their fire was imaginary, said an alliance release.
Less than 36 hours later a real forest fire broke out less than 500 meters from the previous film location.
This fire was dangerously close to residences, Princeton Avenue access, the Peachland Water Treatment plant, and the chemicals stored within.
Local firefighters jumped on repressing the fire and with the assistance of other valley fire departments and the province, the fire was rapidly contained. So far no cause for the wildfire has been announced.
The Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance says it hopes to continue to work with the creative team for the movie including Andrew Huculiak who will direct the film, his brother Josh Huculiak who is the producer and their cousin Joe Schweers, the cameramen who captured the horses, and best friend Cayne McKenzie.
Once the summer dry spell is over and the back country is reopened for off road travel, the group hopes to team up again and scout locations at some of the hidden secrets of Peachland’s unspoiled back country for more filming opportunities, stated the group.