The stories that made the summer of 2017

From floods to fires, Kelowna had some of the worst weather that Mother Nature had to offer this summer.

Some may call it one of the worst Summers we’ve ever had, as we started with record breaking flooding in the Okanagan and ended up in the worst fire season in B.C. history.

It wasn’t all bad though. We had an epic summer, with everything from music festivals to meteors, to remarkable moments caught on camera.

Here are the headlines that made the summer of 2017.

Canada Day fireworks postponed to B.C. Long Weekend

Coming right off of flooding, Kelowna residents were looking forward to this year's Canada Day festival, and were a little let down when they found out it would have a little less sizzle this summer.

Due to safety concerns after the damage that the Okanagan Lake waterfront sustained during the flooding, the Canada Day fireworks had to be postponed.

It was a tough call for Festivals Kelowna to make, especially with it being Canada’s 150th, but they made up for it with “one heck of a street party.”

Kelowna still got its festivities on for the 150th Canada Day celebration on Water Street, and the fireworks were planned to take place on the BC Day long weekend.

Canada Day: A recap

Luxury apartment on Mission Creek near completion lost to massive fire

A luxury apartment complex nearing completion on Truswell Road was fully engulfed in flames just before noon on Saturday, July 8th.

The six storey building boasted large units from 1951 sq. ft. to over 3000 sq.ft.

An evacuation order was issued for 176 units on Truswell and Capozzi Roads that evening, which were later rescinded the next morning.

Fire Chief Travis Whiting confirmed that the fire was caused by a roofer applying torch-on roofing alone during construction.

Okanagan Centre Fire

On Saturday, July 15th at approximately 4:30 p.m. a wildfire sparked on Nighthawk Road, just north of McKinley Landing.

What started as a two hectare, rank three fire, quickly grew to over 30 hectares and a rank six by the evening.

The fire’s rapid growth and threat to homes prompted an immediate evacuation for 331 properties in the Okanagan Centre area.

Eight homes on Nighthawk Road, as well as outbuildings on one property on Tyndall Road were lost overnight in the fire.

By Sunday, July 16th, the fire had grown to approximately 55 hectares in size.

Centre of Gravity kicks off 10th anniversary in Kelowna

C.O.G. celebrated it’s 10th birthday this July with action-packed performances by musicians and extreme sports.

An insane line-up was brought in this year too, with names like Marshmello, Lil Dicky, Schoolboy Q, and DJ duo Ephwurd and Excision hitting the C.OG. stage.

Snoop Dogg, who drew the largest crowd, was also one of the many performers who made C.O.G. 2017 one of the most lit events of the summer.

Kelowna celebrates B.C. Day and Canada's 150th

Kelowna celebrated B.C. Day and Canada's 150th on Saturday, August 5th, at Stuart Park.

There were free festivities for all ages including live music on the Stuart Park main stage, Park and Play bouncers and games, Dancing in the Park - and most importantly, the fireworks Kelowna missed out on for Canada Day.

Rock The Lake 2017

On August 12th, Rock the Lake returned to Kelowna. When the gates opened, hundreds of fans flooded into the concert bowl.

Kelowna had smoky skies for the event, but in true rock 'n' roll spirit, Holly Woods said “We know you’ve been down about the smoke, but we’re still here because hey, this is rock 'n' roll and we don’t give a s**t!”

Despite the poor air quality, the hardcore performers at Rock the Lake, including Kim Mitchell, Helix, Platinum Blonde, April Wine, and more, gave fans their everything.

The Philpott Road fire near Joe Rich

Although the Philpott Road fire came within a few hundred metres of properties, fortunately no structures were reported impacted by the blaze.

Fire started on Hwy 33. Send your photos to us at: news@KelownaNow.com. Or tag us at #kelownanow

A post shared by KelownaNow (@kelownanow) on Aug 24, 2017 at 3:01pm PDT

At about 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 24th, firefighters were called to the blaze along Highway 33 at Philpott Road.

The fire, which reach 465 hectares in size, forced an estimated 1,100 people from their homes.

Finlay Creek wildfire near Peachland

The Finlay Creek fire, which reached a size of 2,228 hectares, had been burning since around 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 2nd.

The 2,224 hectare fire put 306 properties in Peachland and the Regional District of Central Okanagan on evacuation alert, and 55 properties on evacuation order.

Meteor lights up southern B.C. sky before crashing near Nelson

A rare sight was caught on video in southern B.C. on the night of Monday, September 4th.

Security footage of Monday night's #meteor, looking east towards Black Mountain from Rutland. #bcmeteor #kelownanow https://t.co/UM2wkIVvXQ pic.twitter.com/A6PB7yTrvz

— KelownaNow.com (@KelownaNow) September 5, 2017

NowMedia was able to capture the sight on security footage, and several B.C. residents were able to share their videos of the experience as well.

Justin Trudeau takes centre court at UBCO

The day after a meteor lit up the B.C. skies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in Kelowna on Tuesday, September 5th for the Liberal caucus retreat meetings.

During his visit, he stopped by Kelowna Fire Hall #1, hiked up Knox Mountain, welcomed some new Canadian citizens at Stuart Park, and took centre stage at UBCO, where he engaged a large demographic of people in a discussion on a variety of topics.

Overall, Kelowna welcomed Trudeau, as our leader drew crowds everywhere he went, posing for selfies whenever he could. But, while speaking at the special citizenship ceremony at Stuart Park, a heckler yelled at Trudeau right in the middle of a speech about tolerance.

Our Prime Minister @justinpjtrudeau responds to a heckler in #kelowna. He was speaking at a special citizenship ceremony at #Stuartpark - story and video on the ceremony to follow on #kelownanow

A post shared by KelownaNow (@kelownanow) on Sep 6, 2017 at 4:34pm PDT

Trudeau responded in one of the best ways possible to the heckler, simply saying “I tolerate you too sir” before continuing on with the ceremony.

With September 22nd now in the books, that closes off Summer 2017. We hope that these moments sum up the amazing couple months that we've had right here in beautiful Kelowna. Send us your thoughts or share them in the comments on what your Summer of 2017 looked like.