(UPDATE: Aug. 20 @ 12 pm) – Although there is still a long way to go in the fight against the McDougall Creek wildfire, West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund says the next couple days are beginning to look better.
In an update provided Sunday morning, Brolund says he and his crews, along with the hundreds of firefighting and support personnel, are beginning to move forward.
“Finally feeling like we’re moving forward, rather than we’re moving backwards, and that’s a great feeling for us all to have. With saying that, make no mistake, there will be difficult days ahead and we’re continuing to prepare and address those,” Brolund said.
With the turn in weather, cooler temperatures, slightly higher humidity and less wind are expected on Sunday and into Monday.
Brolund says this is allowing crews to return to more traditional firefighting techniques such as digging guards and putting water on hotspots and focusing more efforts on structure protection.
In addition to the change in weather, help continues to arrive from across the province and is bolstering the response to the 11,000-hectare wildfire.
On Saturday, Brolund said over 200 resources were helping, including 127 structural protection firefighters and 41 fire trucks.
On Sunday, he said that number was now closer to 500 firefighters in addition to the arrival of Canada Task Force 1, which is a heavy search and rescue team that will be out in neighbourhoods conducting inventory on properties lost and damaged.
Read more on a summary about the update here, including information on the belief that no more properties were lost in the past 24 hours.
At this time, everyone who has been evacuated is asked for their patience, particularly around emergency support services.
Brolund says it is an ongoing process to evaluate what has been lost or damaged, but with the arrival of the Canadian Task Force, firefighters will have the ability to focus on their firefighting efforts.
“Some of you have lost your homes, there’s no question about that, but most of you have survived,” Brolund said, explaining the dynamic and evolving situation in West Kelowna.
“There are lots of backyards where the fire has come right to your patio furniture and it’s been stopped there because of the work of the 500 people on the ground fighting it.”
Due to the ongoing active wildfires in the area, evacuation orders and alerts are not expected to be lifted at this time.
The public is asked to remain vigilant and continue reporting any hotspots or new fire starts in the community.
Just this morning, a grass fire was reported near the West Kelowna Winners. Fortunately, thanks to the quick reporting of the public, West Kelowna Fire Department engine #32 was able to quickly knock it down.
Engine 32 west Kelowna. Grass fire knocked down quickly. Currently mopping up. #Westkelona pic.twitter.com/ZDpsnq8NFz
— Okanagan Fire Scanner (@Okanaganscan) August 20, 2023
(Original story: Aug. 20 @ 7:24 am) – The McDougall Creek wildfire burning in West Kelowna saw growth overnight Saturday.
The fire is now estimated at 11,000 hectares, however, it could very well be bigger than that, but heavy smoke is causing limited visibility.
“Overnight response continues to be largely fire front following tactics, evacuating residents and fighting fire in neighbourhood and interface areas as it comes down towards homes,” the BC Wildfire Service says in an update provided at 7 am on Sunday.
“Fire activity this morning is rank 2 and rank 3.”
The BC Wildfire Service continues to respond to the McDougall Creek wildfire (K52767) adjacent to West Kelowna, the Walroy Lake wildfire (K52808) adjacent to Glenmore and the Clarke Creek wildfire (K42815) on the west side of Lake Country. pic.twitter.com/AXstbWCpsT
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 20, 2023
Fortunately, no new evacuation orders or alerts were issued overnight for West Kelowna or Kelowna properties.
All existing evacuation orders and alerts can be viewed in the interactive map provided by the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre.
KelownaNow will be using this story to provide updates on the McDougall Creek wildfire. To see our full coverage from Saturday, click this link.
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 also be providing updates from that conference.
On Saturday, the province of BC declared new orders under the provincial state of emergency.
This includes a ban on non-essential travel to and from the Okanagan, Shuswap and Kamloops area.
This is meant to free up accommodations across the region for evacuees and firefighting personnel.
As of 9 pm, flight cancellations continued to be cancelled and the Kelowna airport remains closed as of Sunday morning.
KelownaNow will provide an update on the airport’s status later this morning.
Flight cancellations continue into Sunday, August 20. Please check with your airline for updated flight information before coming to the airport. https://t.co/R2196AylHZ
— Kelowna International Airport (@ylwkelowna) August 20, 2023
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