Progress made on Kelowna and Okanagan wildfires: officials

Cooperative weather allowed firefighters to make progress on wildfires in Kelowna and other parts of the Okanagan over the weekend.

“It was a good day for us to fight fire here in the Central Okanagan,” BC Wildfire Service official Jerrad Schroeder said Sunday.

In an update Sunday morning, officials report no additional structures were lost overnight in West Kelowna, and crews in the Kelowna and Okanagan areas are expecting good firefighting days for the next 24-36 hours.

To aid in the fight, the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) Team Canada Task Force 1 has been deployed to West Kelowna. The Vancouver-based team consists of staff from Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, Vancouver Police Department, City of Vancouver (Engineering & Parks Board), BCEHS, and independent engineers and physicians.

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Up to 50 of these specialists will be on the ground to help conduct searches and rapid damage assessment.

“These teams are out in the neighborhoods,” West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said. “They are conducting an inventory of properties that have been lost and damaged.”

Brolund added a large focus for this team will be conducting searches, however, there are no reports of missing persons as of Sunday.

Here is the latest update on the McDougall Creek Wildfire. https://t.co/2IAwnV5wG3

— Central Ok Emergency (@CO_Emerg) August 20, 2023

It’s great to feel like things are finally moving forward instead of backward, Brolund said. However, he added, there’s no denying the fight is not over yet.

“Make no mistake, there will be difficult days ahead. And we are continuing to prepare and address those,” Brolund said.

The updated size of the McDougall Creek wildfire, burning near Kelowna, is 11,000 hectares, according to the BC Wildfire Service. Schroeder said this is reflective of growth over the last 24 hours, and more accurate mapping is yet to come due to heavy smoke in the area causing low visibility.

Meanwhile, the heavy smoke continues to offer some relief for crews on the ground, Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting said, by blocking out the sun’s rays.

Recovery and lost property

Planning work is underway on how to report and notify people of losses incurred, according to Schroeder.

“It is going to be a very difficult process both logistically and emotionally,” he said. “I understand it’s tough news to receive. And with technology, some people may already be aware of what happened, but we’re going to do our best with that.”

In Kelowna, Whiting says crews will be looking to connect and confirm with people in the next few days whose personal property has been impacted.

While meetings are taking place to determine when evacuation orders can be lifted, for now, Schroeder said evacuation orders in West Kelowna and West Bank First Nation will remain in place and will not be lifted today.

Darren Lee, District of Lake Country Fire Chief, also said evacuation orders in that region will be in place until further notice.

Officials continue to emphasize the restrictions on all non-essential travel in wildfire-affected areas. Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas says he’s asking visitors to return another time when the city can better show off what it has to offer.

“We’re just not showing our best right now, but we will again,” he said. “So we just ask you to please give us that consideration and come back at that time that we do show our best.”

City of Kelowna Coun. and Regional District Chair Loyal Woolridge, says the message from crews today is asking for compassion from the public, while they continue to attempt to take advantage of the promising weather.

“The bottom line here… is we’re not out of the woods yet and we need folks to be responding with compassion and understanding during this time in these emergency events,” he said.