One in a ten-part series showcasing the volunteerism, community and resilience surrounding those evacuated due to the wildfires engulfing parts of the B.C. Interior.

Tanya Kielpinski was cleaning the bathroom of her travel trailer during her phone interview with the Reporter 鈥渏ust for some normal.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 so funny because it鈥檚 the last thing I should be doing, but I just, I don鈥檛 know. I think it will help,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou know what it鈥檚 like when you just need a little bit of normal?鈥�

Kielpinski is one of the 43,000 wildfire evacuees who is desperately hoping for a bit more normal. It鈥檚 now more than 14 days since Kielpinski and her family were forced to leave their home in 150 Mile House; Kielpinski and her three sons are living in their travel trailer at a resort 20 minutes outside of Salmon Arm. Her husband left on Wednesday, July 19 to work up north for two weeks.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been surreal. I don鈥檛 even know how to explain it,鈥� Kielpinski said.

鈥淭o be honest, those days [after the evacuation] kind of all mixed to me. We were evacuated four times in two days, so I don鈥檛 remember all of it.鈥�

The Kielpinskis were camping near Shuswap when they recieved the evacuation order for 150 Mile House. Unable to return home to grab anything beyond what was already in their trailer, the family drove up to 100 Mile House, hoping to get temporary access to check on their cat and chickens.

That night, 100 Mile House was evacuated.

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Kielpinski moved on to Sheridan Lake, still hoping to get temporary access to their home. Sheridan Lake was then put on evacuation alert, and the local MLA requested that anyone already evacuated leave the community so residents could prepare to evacuate.

鈥淭hen it鈥檚 kind of been two nights here, two nights there, just trying to find a place to set up home,鈥� Kielpinski said.

On top of evacuations and home worries, Kielpinski had another problem. Her father, Terry Tomm, had booked a 14-day, father-daughter trip to Europe, but because of the evacuation order, Kielpinski hadn鈥檛 been able to grab her passport.

鈥淚 [also] knew I couldn鈥檛 leave my family,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have three boys. And animals. I just knew I couldn鈥檛 leave while this was happening to my home.鈥�

Tomm hadn鈥檛 purchased cancellation insurance. When Kielpinski was evacuated on July 7, their trip was seven days away.

Tomm called , their flight provider, and asked if he could move the flight dates. They offered him a $400 refund on the two tickets to London. Then, he called , the tour company he had booked with.

鈥淭his was now five days before the trip,鈥� Kielpinski said. 鈥淭hey said that if my dad had called six days ago, they could have possibly done something, but because it鈥檚 such short notice, there鈥檚 not much they can do.

鈥淎t that point I got kind of upset, because I knew my dad was going to be out all this money. So I took to social media.鈥�

On a Facebook post, which Kielpinski took down three hours later to avoid negative comments about her dad not purchasing cancellation insurance, Kielpinski asked for suggestions on how to deal with her trip.

Someone tagged Delta North MLA Ravi Kahlon on the post. Kielpinski had grown up in North Delta, and Tomm currently lives in the community, but Kahlon didn鈥檛 know this when he first saw the post.

鈥淣ormally, at work you serve the people of North Delta,鈥� Kahlon said. 鈥淏ut I just felt like I just wanted to help.鈥�

鈥淭he fire is all around them, they鈥檙e doing so much,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 thought the last thing they should be worrying about is this.鈥�

He called Kielpinski, and told her she didn鈥檛 need to worry about her trip.

鈥淲hen Ravi first called me, the initial feeling I can say was huge relief, because I just felt so appreciative of someone helping,鈥� she said.

Kahlon called British Airways, getting help from the . At first, there was nothing. Eventually, he managed to secure Tomm and Kielpinski credit to rebook their flights any time in the next six months.

Then it was on to Expat Explore, which eventually credited the pair most of their money, allowing them to use the credit anytime in the next year.

鈥淚 think we lost maybe $1,500 or something from that,鈥� Kielpinski said. 鈥淚t all worked out amazing.鈥�

Thanks to help from strangers and social media, Kielpinski doesn鈥檛 have to worry about Europe or her dad鈥檚 finances anymore. She can focus on creating a plan for her family that will keep them focused for the next two weeks.

鈥淣o one knows when we are going home. People think that it will be a while,鈥� she said.

鈥淥ur plan is to set up here for the next week or two. If our house does get let back in, that鈥檚 what I will do.鈥�

In the meantime, Kielpinski is going to keep cleaning the bathroom.