Kelowna wildfire grows 6 times larger overnight, as mayor describes ‘terrifying’ situation

The McDougall Creek Wildfire that is threatening lives and properties in West Kelowna has grown exponentially overnight.

The BC Wildfire Service says the wildfire has grown from 1,100 hectares in size to 6,800 hectares by Friday morning.

Come to West Kelowna for the friends, stay for the vision of the hell that awaits us in the anthropocene gazing at us from upon the ridgeline #bcwildfire pic.twitter.com/oMWpWnSb14

— Aaron Larsen (@double_a_larsen) August 18, 2023

According to the service, the fire is approximately 10 km northwest of West Kelowna. However, footage of the fire posted to social media overnight shows houses and other structures near Traders Cove on Westside Road being engulfed by flames.

Speaking to the CityNews 1130 Morning Show, West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom says the city and its neighbours are dealing with a “very powerful, fast-moving wildfire” Friday morning.

“It’s been a real stressful evening. It’s just amazing what we’re dealing with here. The incredible force of this wildfire.”

Milsom says Friday will be an exercise of waiting to see how the day unfolds, as far as winds and weather conditions play out. However, he does expect further evacuation orders to come.

“I must say, I have to thank our residents for being calm, for those that have been under evacuation orders for leaving their homes quickly,” he said. “It’s critical that residents leave right away. [It’s a] very serious situation here in the City of West Kelowna.

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While the mayor says he is aware of structure losses within West Kelowna, he’s not been made aware of the actual number of homes lost, adding more information will be provided at an update later Friday morning.

Milsom says the winds are still incredibly strong, adding “the terrain is very difficult for our firefighters to work in is very dangerous.”

West Kelowna at 2:26am. What a thing to experience on our wedding night. Just evacuated our AirBNB. #westkelowna #mcdougallfire #McDougallCreek #bcfires pic.twitter.com/ufyiHlRhZ7

— Britt Filion (@brittfilion) August 18, 2023

“We’re just keeping our fingers crossed that the winds, they just blow away from the city. But again, I encourage, I ask our residents to be very diligent, to be ready to move should evacuation orders come forward again today.”

The fires look terrifying, Milsom says, explaining that overnight seeing the flames glow on the hillside and mountainside makes it “feel like it’s right on top of us and really it isn’t very far away.”

“It is a terrifying situation for our residents.”

“But, we’ll get through it, through this together as a community, together with our good friends at West Bank First Nations and Regional District. … I just thank our firefighting teams and wildfire B.C. firefighters for all the good work they’re doing.

“But, the battle continues. We’ll see what’s ahead of us today, but it is a very terrifying situation for all,” Milsom said.

The provincial wildfire dashboard also shows a third wildfire has been sparked on the east side of Okanagan Lake, north of Kelowna proper, as the fire jumped the lake late Thursday night.

According to the dashboard, the newest of the fires on the east side of the lake is near Lochview Road, with the other two near Porcupine Crescent and Clarke Creek.