Salamander and tarantula are B.C. fire survivors, as pets and owners seek reunions

Amanda Roberts is shown in this undated handout photo with her dog Turbo. Roberts and her young son were forced from their home in Faulder, B.C., after the fast-moving Bald Range wildfire tore through the small community outside Summerland, burning down her home of 10 years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Amanda Roberts

When Amanda Roberts and her 10-year-old son River fled the Bald Range fire before it wiped out the community of Faulder, B.C., they had to leave behind some of their beloved pets, including a tarantula named Velky Pavouk and Mongo the salamander.

The critters were in two terrariums they left behind in a vehicle they abandoned, such was the urgency to get out, while Roberts said their largest terrarium couldn’t even be moved — the pet ball python inside didn’t survive the fire when it destroyed the home. 

But while the home was destroyed, Roberts said Mongo and Velky Pavouk — whose name means “big spider” in Czech — somehow survived for five days in the abandoned vehicle and were rescued by “an amazing RCMP officer.” 

They’re some of the lucky ones among the pet survivors of the Bald Range fire, many of whom are still waiting to be reunited with worried owners. Dozens of posts on social media feature photos of missing cats, dogs and even chickens, while others show singed pets rescued from the fire zone.

Kaila Wolf, spokesperson for the BC SPCA, said the organization has been “all hands on deck” in regions hard-hit by this season’s wildfires. 

She said the most-used service is free emergency boarding for pets to allow owners some breathing room. 

“Because it’s a stressful time, they don’t just have the capability to care for themselves and their families and their animals and get all of the appropriate supports for themselves and their pets at the same time and place,” she said. 

“So the evacuees are absolutely welcome to reach out and have been.”

She said they’ve cared for 126 emergency boarders since late July, with 45 currently in the SPCA’s care. 

“They range from dogs, cats, kittens, puppies. We also interestingly have one gecko in care, probably the most interesting of the animals that we have,” she said. 

She said the SPCA urges people to tattoo or chip pets for easier reunification.

“Any sort of emergency preparedness should extend to the animals in your home as well,” she said. 

She said animal guardians have told of being on evacuation alert and stepping out to pick up supplies in case of an evacuation order. 

“And that order came down while they were out of their home and they were not allowed to go back to get to their pets, which can only add to an incredibly devastating moment, knowing you’re not able to go back to your home, but also that your animals are there as well,” Wolf said.

“So just be conscious of that.” 

Roberts said River had now been reunited with Mongo and Velky Pavouk, calling it a miracle the creatures survived the fire that destroyed or damaged 150 structures in Summerland and outlying areas including Faulder.

She said some neighbours’ pets got loose or were set free during the frantic evacuation of Faulder on Aug. 7, and some people who stayed behind had been putting out food and treats “in hopes of corralling in the missing animals.”

In the case of Mongo the salamander, their survival is in keeping the creatures’ mythical attribute of being able to live in fire.

Roberts said she moved to Faulder 10 years ago when River was a baby, and the community had been a “safe refuge for us.” 

“We’ve been there ever since building a life. I wanted to offer my boy stability,” she said. 

She said her landlord “took a chance” on renting to her a decade ago. She says they are “more like family and I feel that about a lot of folks in Faulder. It’s a small community.”

Roberts said River went through a herpetology phase that saw him build terrariums, and they kept a veritable zoo. She said that when they fled the fire, they got out with their dog Turbo, their landlord’s dog, one of their cats and their crested gecko, Kanika.

But Roberts said River was devastated by the loss of his cat Sally-Mae, who is missing, along with another cat named Haiku and guinea pigs that they kept in a free-roaming containment apparatus in front of their home. 

She said being uprooted by the fire has “disjointed” her thinking, though she’s grateful to have a place in Penticton to stay in the meantime. 

“One day I’m sobbing, saying I’m just going to leave the country. And then another day I am feeling a little more like, oh, I should return to work and if I live in a tent, so be it,” she said. 

She said it’s been “beautiful” to see the outpouring of support for evacuees and those displaced by the fire, admiring those with the tenacity to want to rebuild while dealing with the “reality that that takes time, a significant amount of time.” 

“So what does it look like in the interim for all of us? It’s just very uncertain,” she said. “I don’t know where life will take us. It’s a very strange thing.” 

This report by Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press, was first published Aug. 19, 2026