After losing 95 per cent of its infrastructure in the 2023 McDougall Creek wildfire, Camp OAC is preparing to welcome campers back to its Okanagan Lake site.
The Okanagan Anglican Camp held a fundraising campaign kickoff Saturday in Kelowna, launching its Rebuild the Magic of Camp campaign.
The goal is to raise the money needed to rebuild the camp and bring overnight programming back by summer 2027.
Camp OAC has operated since 1950 and served generations of children and families in the Okanagan.
Camp director Ian Dixon said the wildfire destroyed the camp's critical infrastructure, including electricity, water and septic systems.
“It’s been a challenge,” Dixon said of the rebuild. “There’s been lots of ups and downs.”
The project has faced archaeological and slope stability delays, but Dixon said the camp is now “turning the corner” toward rebuilding.
“We’re looking forward to rebuilding for the next 75,” he said.
The camp previously welcomed more than 600 children through overnight and day camps each year, along with school groups and other community organizations.
Lynne McNaughton, bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Kootenay, said the camp provides an important space for children to connect with each other and nature.
“I see it as a place where kids can be without Wi-Fi for a week,” McNaughton said, describing it as a place where children can feel “treasured and valued.”
The fire destroyed 27 buildings, according to McNaughton, and the camp has remained closed while rebuilding plans, archaeological work and permits were completed.
The new buildings will also allow the camp to expand its programming beyond the summer months.
Camp leader Charlotte Hardy has been connected to Camp OAC since she was 13, when she started as a junior cabin leader.
She was camp coordinator when the wildfire forced the evacuation of campers in 2023.
“We ended up evacuating all of our campers to the cathedral here until their parents could come and pick them up,” Hardy said.
Hardy said the camp serves children from Kelowna and beyond, including international campers and children participating through community partnerships.
The goal now is to have cabin complexes on site and reopen for summer 2027.
“We hope so,” Hardy said. “That’s the goal.”
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