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.
