08/18/2026
We're reaching out on behalf of two people we deeply admire and consider dear friends: Eva and Jonathan, founders of the Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Summerland, BC.
On August 7th, one of the fastest-moving wildfires BC has seen this year tore through Summerland and destroyed the wildlife rehabilitation centre Eva, Jonathan and their team of volunteers spent years building.
For years, the team at IWRS have poured their lives into rescuing and rehabilitating injured and orphaned wildlife across the BC interior, doing the same long nights and hard days that anyone in this field knows so well. When the Bald Range wildfire reached their property, they had very little time to get out.
In less than an hour, they loaded every wildlife patient in their care and got them to safety. Then, as they drove away, they watched on their security cameras as the entire facility was engulfed in flames, until the cameras went black. The centre they built, the enclosures, the equipment, the space where countless animals were given a second chance, all of it is gone.
The good news is that every animal in their care made it out safely. They are now being temporarily housed and cared for at Kamloops Wildlife Park's rewilding facility, and the wildlife rehab community from across BC has been coming together to support them.
We don't know yet how or when they'll be able to rebuild. What we do know is that the animals of the BC interior need this centre back, and Eva, Jonathan and their amazing team of volunteers will need support to make that happen.
We are asking our community to help us make sure the funds are there when they're ready. Every donation, big or small, goes directly toward helping two friends and fellow wildlife rehabilitators rebuild the centre and get back to the work they love.
**Please follow the links below to give what you can, and please share this with anyone who might want to help.**
*If you would like a tax receipted donation, please visit IWRS’s Canada Helps page https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/interior-wildlife-rehabilitation-society/?sm=1
*To learn more about IWRS, follow their rebuild and future plans, or discover more ways to support them at this challenging time visit https://interiorwildlife.ca/
*A separate fundraiser has been set up to support Eva and Jonathan personally as they also lost their home and everything in it: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-eva-and-jonathan-recover-from-the-summerland-wildfire
