UPDATE: Evacuation order lifted for UBCO campus, Quail Ridge

(UPDATE: Aug. 20 @ 2:55 pm) – In a turn of events, the evacuation order for more than 50 properties in the University of British Columbia campus and Quail Ridge have been lifted.

An evacuation alert remains in effect due to the Walroy Lake wildfire, which ripped through the Clifton, McKinley, Wilden and north Glenmore areas on Friday.

The campus and all properties accessed off Quail Ridge Boulevard, including Quail Ridge Golf Club will remain on an alert until further notice.

All other existing evacuation orders and alerts remain in effect and can be viewed on the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations website.

The lifted order applies to the following properties:

• 1033 ALUMNI AVE

• 1035 ALUMNI AVE

• 1137 ALUMNI AVE

• 1138 ALUMNI AVE

• 1144 ALUMNI AVE

• 1157 ALUMNI AVE

• 1159 ALUMNI AVE

• 1201 ALUMNI AVE

• 3177 ATHLETICS CRT

• 3211 ATHLETICS CRT

• 1088 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1238 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1250 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1260 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1262 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1263 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1267 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1291 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1311 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1331 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1337 DISCOVERY AVE

• 1060 DIVERSITY PL

• 1210 INNOVATION DR

• 1220 INTERNATIONAL MEWS

• 1240 INTERNATIONAL MEWS

• 1255 INTERNATIONAL MEWS

• 1260 INTERNATIONAL MEWS

• 1270 INTERNATIONAL MEWS

• 1290 INTERNATIONAL MEWS

• 1310 INTERNATIONAL MEWS

• 1323 INTERNATIONAL MEWS

• 3192 LOWER RESIDENCE LANE

• 3200 LOWER RESIDENCE LANE

• 3210 LOWER RESIDENCE LANE

• 3212 LOWER RESIDENCE LANE

• 1147 RESEARCH RD

• 1148 RESEARCH RD

• 1177 RESEARCH RD

• UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3140 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3142 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3180 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3187 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3247 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3272 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3287 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3297 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3308 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3317 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3333 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3348 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3430 UNIVERSITY WAY

• 3132 UPPER RESIDENCE PL

• 3133 UPPER RESIDENCE PL

• 3152 UPPER RESIDENCE PL

• 3153 UPPER RESIDENCE PL

(UPDATE: Aug. 20 @ 12:45 pm) – Despite decreased overnight activity on the Walroy Lake wildfire, Central Okanagan Emergency Operations has issued a new evacuation alert for properties in the Glenmore Highlands.

Six more properties are now on an evacuation alert, which means they are advised to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice due to ongoing wildfire activity.

Those properties include:

• 3850 Glenmore Rd

• 4000 Glenmore Rd

• 4100 Glenmore Rd

• 3790 Glenmore Rd N

• 3950 Glenmore Rd N

• 4240 Glenmore Rd N

A detailed map showing affected properties throughout the Clifton, Wilden and Glenmore areas is available at cordemergency.ca.

The City of Kelowna has issued an extension to an existing Evacuation Alert for six Glenmore Highlands properties. https://t.co/v3TeHWxK6a pic.twitter.com/LoQTVGH3eK

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

During a morning update, Kelowna fire chief Travis Whiting said things were beginning to make a turn for the better for crews working on the Walroy Lake wildfire.

“Definitely, it's the day where we can take a deep breath and make really strategic objectives achievable and really make some headway on what we’re working on as opposed to the reaction that we’ve been through in the last couple of days,” said Whiting.

“We saw decreased activity overnight, we did have some flare ups and crews were actively engaged in firefighting but it has really subsided this morning.”

Whiting noted that it was a cold morning at the staging area, which is welcomed in the fight against the fire.

The weather has taken a turn for the better and cooler temperatures are expected to bolster the firefighting action happening in north Kelowna.

“We’re going to take advantage of today and tomorrow, which we know are looking like similar weather patterns to really try and get a handle on protection of neighbourhoods and homes,” Whiting said.

“Crews, this morning, were deployed with the mission to seek and destroy any perimeter fire around structures.”

That means crews will be working directly behind homes where the fire has crept down the hill into neighbourhoods.

This will include crews extinguishing hot spots and creating fire guards to keep the fire at bay.

Whiting says he and his crew’s spirits are beginning to lift amid the change in weather and are very excited to finally have the opportunity to get a handle on the fire.

In addition to the battle of the ground, Whiting says he and his team will begin the process of connecting with people and confirming impacts to their properties in the next couple days.

Although the message was much more positive than it has been since Friday, Whiting is still urging people to be ready and to prepare their homes now.

“We have lots of summer left lots of time left, these days of putting these defences in will be critical in the long run,” he said, referring to FireSmart measures people can take.

Whiting also encouraged everyone to prepare grab-and-go kits, make plans for accommodations and just be prepared this week if the situation changes.

(Original story: Aug. 20 @ 7:57 am) – The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says the wildfire burning in North Kelowna has now been dubbed the Walroy Lake fire and it is still estimated at 769 hectares, as of 7 am on Sunday.

The fire rapidly spread east through the North Glenmore and Clifton areas on Friday and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of homes in Glenmore, Quail Ridge, the UBC Okanagan Campus and other areas in the north end of Kelowna.

The BCWS says limited growth was observed overnight Saturday on a majority of the fire, but the portion of the fire where most of the growth is happening is along the south flank.

On Saturday, the fire was showing rank two behaviour and was backing down slopes towards structures.

“Structure protection personnel are positioned around the fire perimeter, monitoring fire activity and actioning the fire as it approaches homes and properties,” the BCWS says.

Operations on Sunday will see BCWS personnel and structure protection task forces working on priority areas on the northwest corner and southern flank to limit further spread.

Structure protection firefighters will be working to extinguish active fires near homes and properties.

Helicopters, although they may not be seen due to the heavy smoke, are also out there helping ground crews and bucketing water onto hotspots and flare ups.

Fortunately, no new evacuation orders and alerts were issued overnight.

Hundreds of orders and alerts do remain in place for the Clifton, Wilden and Glenmore areas, however.

A map of the active evacuation zone can be found on the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations website.

Representatives from local fire services and BC Wildfire Service will be providing information on the fire station in a news conference scheduled for 10 am.

Residents can watch the update on the regional district’s YouTube channel, available here.

KelownaNow will be using this story to provide updates on the Walroy Lake wildfire. To see our full coverage from Saturday, click this link.