(UPDATE: July 9th @ 10:45 a.m.) - The evacuation order for Charles M Suites (11 units) at 559 Truswell Rd. and all single family homes on Truswell Road and Capozzi Road will be lifted at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
The single family home addresses are between 3814 Capozzi Rd. and 3896 Capozzi Rd.
The evacuation order for Mission Shores (54 units) at 3880 Truswell Rd. will be lifted at 1 p.m. on Sunday, as more time is needed for the parkade to fully ventilate.
The Evacuation Orders remain in effect for both Water’s Edge (65 units) at 3865 – 3885 Truswell Road and Walnut Grove (37 units) at 549 Truswell Road as fire suppresion work is ongoing.
Plans are being made to provide limited escorted access to Water's Edge residents to secure essential items such as prescription drugs.
Evacuations are still being directed to the Salvation Army at 1480 Sutherland Ave, where Emergency Support Services are set up with food and shelter options for displaced residents.
People are being reminded to stay clear of the general area as it remains a restricted access area.
(UPDATE: July 8th @ 6:20 p.m.) - An evacuation order has been issued for 176 units on Truswell and Capozzi Roads due to building fires. The order will remain in place overnight tonight as power and gas have been turned off for the area, which also means residential fire smoke alarms and suppression systems may be non-operational.
The evacuation order impacts The Waters Edge (65 units), Walnut Grove Motel (37 units), Charles M. Suites (11 units), Mission Shores (54 units) and nine single family waterfront homes.
Fire suppression work will be ongoing tonight and possibly longer.
Evacuees are being directed to the Salvation Army on Sutherland Ave, where Emergency Support Services (ESS) are set up with food and shelter options for displaced residents.
People are being reminded to stay clear of the general area as it remains a restricted access area.
(UPDATE: July 8th @ 3:00 p.m.) - A woman who lives across from the Eldorado said she first called 9-1-1 at 11:25 a.m.
"We saw a bit of white smoke as we were passing by and then turned down Truswell Road," said Karla Reid, 35.
When she and her friend turned down the back side of the building, they saw flames.
Shortly after, they saw a worker coming out of the building.
"He seemed quite panicked," said Reid.
According to Reid, he appeared to be in shock and was driving his truck to move it out of the way.
"His hands were black and looked badly burned."
According to Reid, the firefighters arrived on site within five minutes of the 9-1-1 call.
The worker remained on the scene until firefighters arrived.
CORD Emergency reported that the six-storey condominium under construction on Truswell and Capozzi roads caught on fire Saturday near the Hotel Eldorado in South Kelowna at approximately 11:30 A.M.
The building was uninhabited at the time however all residents on Truswell have been evacuated along with the Mission Shores Lakeside Resort.
The majority of the building under construction has collapsed due to the fire which also spread to adjacent buildings, including the roof of Waters Edge at 3865 Truswell Rd, and adjacent units of the Walnut Grove Motel.
Evacuees are being directed to the Salvation Army, 1480 Sutherland Ave, where Emergency Support Services are set up.
People are being asked to stay clear of the area as it remains under restricted access.
The hot dry weather continues to push the fire danger across the province to critical, and people are being asked to remain extremely cautious with items such as barbecues and cigarettes.
UPDATE (July 8, 2017 @ 2:07 p.m. ) - The new Waters Edge Luxury apartment complex was nearing completion when it caught fire just before noon on Saturday. The heavy flames required all hands on deck from emergency services including the Kelowna Fire Department, Kelowna RCMP and ambulances services who worked together to fight the massive fire.
But with Kelowna’s extremely dry, hot and windy conditions, the flames grew significantly and eventually the building collapsed.
A woman who lives across from the complex at Mission Shores, said their power was cut and alarms were sounding from their building. While there wasn’t a formal evacuation, most residents nearby exited their residence with their pets and stayed outside. The woman also reported watching a construction worker leave the building that was on fire with burn injuries. Firefighters remained on scene attempting to control the blaze from all sides trying to prevent it from reaching the boats stored at the Aqua Marine Valet and the original Waters Edge building, sandwiched behind the new and nearly completed complex.
Traffic was backed up along Cook Road and Lakeshore Road, as police were directing vehicles away from the blaze.
Firefighters helped young children and elderly people pass safely through the narrow corridor between Mission Shores and the Waters Edge complex that was engulfed in flames.
The fire started just before noon and crews remained on scene well into the afternoon.
Raw video of the fire
Original Story (July 8th @ 1:30 p.m.)
A luxury apartment complex nearing completion on Truswell Road is fully engulfed in flames. The six story building boasted large units from 1951 sq. ft. to over 3000 sq.ft.
A KelownaNow reporter at the scene just reported that the building just collapsed onto itself.
The fire started just before noon.
Avoid driving in the Lakeshore Road area near the Eldorado Hotel.
KelownaNow has a reporter on the scene and will update as we have more information.
Raw video
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