Wildfire forces couple to move their wedding from Chelan

CHELAN - Wildfires have forced thousands of homeowners and tourists to evacuate from Chelan. Tonight, strangers came together to help one couple find a new place to walk down the aisle.

It's been a whirlwind 24 hours for Becca and Lars Jorgensen. They were in Chelan yesterday planning the last minute details of their wedding, when multiple fires broke out.

“We definitely knew it was dry and it can happen over here. But it was for sure, a surprise,” says Lars.

“I’ve never, in the 24 years I’ve been coming to Chelan, seen this many fires around the lake,” adds Becca. “It’s very sad, very sad.”

They didn't want to cancel their wedding, but they knew it wouldn't be safe for all their friends and family to drive into the smoke filled valley.

“We had a frantic wonderful phone tree of our wedding party, 10 people on the phone to our caterer and DJ and venues.”

They reached the Warm Springs Inn in Wenatchee. Julie Szmania immediately related to their situation.

“We had just witnessed a month and a half ago the Sleepy Hollow fire. It started right across from us.”

She understood what kind of devastation was happening a few miles away, and wanted to do what she could to help ease the pain for at least a few families. So she called up her staff and said they were going to put together an emergency wedding.

“We were able to get everything set up in an hour and a half.”

It not the wedding day anyone pictured, but it will be a day the couple will always remember.