Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

At least 50 buildings lost to wildfire in West Kelowna, B.C., fire chief confirms

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Aug, 2023 01:10 PM
  • At least 50 buildings lost to wildfire in West Kelowna, B.C., fire chief confirms

Early estimates suggest wildfires burning on both sides of British Columbia's Okanagan Lake have destroyed almost 60 structures in the Kelowna area, officials said Monday.

Fire chiefs from West Kelowna, Kelowna and Lake Country said homes have been destroyed in their communities, with West Kelowna sustaining the most losses and higher numbers still expected.

"I can report today that I have a loss estimate for the neighbourhoods that we have visited," West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said at a news conference.

"This number is an estimate and it represents full and partial losses within the neighbourhoods," he said. "We estimate that there's approximately 50 structures. We're not done yet and the most damaged neighbourhoods are yet to come."

Kelowna Fire Chief Travis Whiting said five homes have been destroyed by the wildfire in his city, while Lake Country Chief Darren Lee said two to three structures were lost in his community and others have been damaged.

Ross Kotscherofski, North Westside Fire Rescue Chief, did not provide a damage estimate, but said some of his own firefighters have lost their homes and are continuing to battle the 110-square-kilometre McDougall Creek wildfire that has menaced the Kelowna area for days.

"The firefighters are there to help their neighbours," he said.

Kotscherofski said some of the Westside firefighters arrived at the fire lines with their suitcases and are now staying in local hotels.

Brolund said he wants to provide residents worried about their properties and when they can return home with good, safe information.

"We're going to do it right," he said. "We're going to make sure, to the best of our ability, we don't make mistakes and we don't tell someone something that isn't true."

Brolund said some of the neighbourhoods appear to have been hit by a hurricane, with trees ripped up by their roots.

"In going through these neighbourhoods we're finding, for example, that the addresses just aren't on the buildings," he said. "In some cases the buildings are gone. In some cases the street signs are melted."

But he said about a half dozen neighbourhoods in West Kelowna escaped fire damage altogether, including Smith Creek, Tallus Ridge, Shannon Lake, the Lenz Road Trailer Park and Rose Valley.

Officials said crews have made good progress over the past few days and there have been no structural losses in West Kelowna in the last 24 hours.

Brolund paid tribute to the firefighters and fire responders who have been working non-stop to battle the blaze.

He said there have been countless examples of effort that go far beyond the call of duty.

One firefighter was scheduled to participate in his Canadian citizenship ceremony on Monday but chose to stay and fight the wildfire, Brolund said.

Provisions were made to hold the firefighter's ceremony virtually behind the fire line, he added.

"It gives me goosebumps to tell that story," he said.

The BC Wildfire Service said crews have been taking advantage of recent good weather to go into neighbourhoods, extinguish fires around homes and create a "guard" to prevent more structural losses.

MORE National ARTICLES

Feds to provide wildfire update

Feds to provide wildfire update
Officials have already said Canada is experiencing its worst fire season on record, charring more than 130,000 square kilometres to date, which is more than six times the 10-year average. Natural Resources Canada said last week there were more than 650 fires burning across Canada, about two-thirds of them in B.C. 

Feds to provide wildfire update

Concrete actions must accompany diverse cabinet: Canada Research Chair

Concrete actions must accompany diverse cabinet: Canada Research Chair
An academic expert on inclusive politics says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's move last month to introduce more diversity into his cabinet won't have much effect unless it goes beyond surface-level representation. Trudeau added seven new faces to his governing team in July including the first Filipina Canadian woman MP and the first Sri Lankan Tamil to serve in cabinet.  

Concrete actions must accompany diverse cabinet: Canada Research Chair

Spike in rent across Canada

Spike in rent across Canada
The average asking rent in Canada went up last month to a record two-thousand and 78 dollars. A new report from Rentals-dot-c-a and research firm Urbanation says the total is 8.9 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Spike in rent across Canada

Calgary police say suspect may be in B.C. or Ont. after not returning to psych centre

Calgary police say suspect may be in B.C. or Ont. after not returning to psych centre
A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for a 52-year-old man whom police say failed to return to a psychiatric hospital in Calgary last week. Calgary police say Patrick Leo McGann is wanted nationally for being unlawfully at large and an Alberta-wide warrant has been issued for disobeying a court order.

Calgary police say suspect may be in B.C. or Ont. after not returning to psych centre

5 paddlers and a dog rescued from Yukon river

5 paddlers and a dog rescued from Yukon river
Five paddlers and a dog were rescued from Kathleen River in Kluane National Park after they lost their canoe in rough water. Yukon R-C-M-P say it happened on Saturday when Parks Canada staff were told about the group of stranded paddlers.  

5 paddlers and a dog rescued from Yukon river

Highest court refuses to hear appeal from B.C. churches opposed to COVID-19 ruling

Highest court refuses to hear appeal from B.C. churches opposed to COVID-19 ruling
The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from three British Columbia churches that argued their constitutional rights were violated when provincial restrictions banned indoor religious services at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The case stems from orders issued by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry during the second wave of the pandemic more than two years ago.

Highest court refuses to hear appeal from B.C. churches opposed to COVID-19 ruling