Top Stories – August 9 – Rain Helps Fires

The White Rock Lake wildfire was last estimated at 550 square kilometres. To put it in perspective, Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond combined are 342 square kilometres. The Okanagan Indian Band lifted its evacuation order but the Regional District of Central Okanagan left orders and alerts in place. And just because we had rain on the weekend doesn’t mean we can let our guard down as it is forecast to get into the low thirties this week

Locally, the Mt. Miller fire, 11K west of West Kelowna has not shown much growth and was last estimated at 3.4 hectares. It is classified as ‘under control’. To the south, the Thomas Creek fire by Okanagan Falls has also remained at about 10,800 hectares, but is still classified as Out Of Control. Saturday, crews took advantage of favourable winds to successfully complete a 300 hectare planned ignition along the northeast flank.

Some more old Covid restrictions are back in place in the Central Okanagan as case numbers continue to climb. Among them; bars and nightclubs are closed, seating at restaurants is limited and high intensity exercise classes are on hold. And Health Minister Adrian Dix says everyone in an ICU bed in BC with Covid right now is unvaccinated. Scroll down on our FB page for a link to restrictions.

Lynyrd Skynyrd has pulled out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame concert after guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for COVID. The band was set to co-headline the concert tonight with Brad Paisley. The band says Medlocke is resting and responding to treatment.

West Kelowna fire was called to a house fire yesterday afternoon on Country Pines Drive. Crews found a fire on the second floor and quickly extinguished the fire and were able to contain it to the room it started in. The fire is not suspicious in nature and everyone got out okay.

Canada is now welcoming fully vaccinated Americans with no need to quarantine. The border, which is fully staffed after employees reached an agreement with the government on the weekend, reopened to visitors at midnight. They must show proof of a negative test for COVID that’s no more than 72 hours old and use the ArriveCAN app or online web portal to upload their vaccination details.

Kelowna may still be on Stage 1 water restrictions, but the city says it will start cracking down on those watering outside their allotted days and times. Warnings will be first, followed by fines and apply to residential and commercial properties serviced by the city water utility. For details on what days and when you can water, Google Kelowna Water Restrictions.

The Independent Investigation Office is investigating a fatal crash on Okanagan Lake near Summerland last Thursday. An off duty RCMP officer was riding a See Doo which collided with another person on a personal watercraft. The other person died of injuries sustained in the crash. It’s not known if the officer was injured.

And don’t forget there is now a drop in covid vaccination clinic at the Kelowna Yacht Club from 3-7pm daily. Its for anyone who needs their first shot, or it has been 28 days since the first. Just take your I-D and vaccination card if it’s your second dose.

Sports

In case you missed it on Friday the BC Lions came back from being way down to Saskatchewan, but not enough as they lost 33 to 29. Next they play Calgary in the stampede city, on Thursday

At TPC Southwind, the WGC FedEx-St. Jude Invitational went to a playoff after 3 golfers finished regulation at 16 under par. Abraham Ancer beat the other 2 with a birdie on the second playoff hole for his first PGA Tour win.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Canada came home with 24 medals, 7 Gold, 6 Silver and 11 Bronze. That was good enough for 11th place and a national record for non-boycott summer games.

The Edmonton Oilers locked up defenseman Darnell Nurse to a max eight-year contract extension with an average annual value of 9.25 million dollars. He’ll be the second-highest-paid player on Edmonton’s books behind reigning MVP and captain Connor McDavid.

They’re not even playing yet, but NHL players won’t be allowed to mingle with fans for the time being as COVID-19 rates continue to spike in the United States. The no nos include speaking engagements, autograph sessions, handshake lines, and fist bumps.

New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is on the injured list after testing positive for COVID-19. He’s a cancer survivor and has not been vaccinated