Top Stories – Aug 2 – Keremeos Creek Fire Grows

The wildfire between Penticton and Keremeos was last measured at about 22-hundred hectares and was burning east of Apex Mountain Village which was ordered evacuated yesterday. Smoke has been hindering helicopter operations a bit and the terrain doesn’t allow access for heavy equipment. A number of other evacuation orders and alerts continue along Green Mountain Road and Highway 3A.

Like the rest of the interior, the hot and dry conditions continued on the weekend for crews battling the Nohomin Creek wildfire northwest of Lytton. The fire grew over the last few days and was last estimated at 31-hundred hectares and is suspected to be human-caused. There were close to 100 firefighters and almost a dozen helicopters on the lines working through temperatures in the upper 30s and low humidity.

A boil water notice remains for part of the Lakeview/Rose Valley water system in West Kelowna. It’s the area served by the Shannon Way Reservoir, and is due to the presence of coliform which exceeds health limits. The rest of the system remains on a water quality advisory because of turbidity in the Rose Valley reservoir.

With the long weekend behind us, permanent repairs to the Othello section of the Coquihalla Highway will begin soon with work to be completed this fall. Some of the work to be done includes rebuilding 460 metres of the southbound lanes that were washed out, and replacing and upsizing culverts to accommodate future extreme weather events related to climate change. The project cost is 4.6 Million dollars.

RCMP and the Coroner are trying to determine if any criminal elements were involved in a man’s death. His body was found in shallow water on the west side of the lake near the Shelter Bay Marina in West Kelowna. He’s described as Asian, between 20 and 40 with an average height and slim build. Anyone who may have seen something on Friday around 1pm is asked to contact the RCMP.

The seemingly never-ending construction on Shannon Lake Road and Bartley in West Kelowna takes a new turn this week. Today through Friday, a single-lane alternating traffic pattern is scheduled to be in place on Bartley from the roundabout to Byland Road. This will allow for installation of underground utilities as part of active transportation upgrades in the Shannon Lake Corridor.

The Province is making monkeypox vaccines available to at-risk people in BC. Although the number of cases remains low, some community transmission has been identified. There have been no reported cases in Interior or Northern Health, but a total of 61 in other areas of the province, with the majority in the Vancouver area.

A cyclist was killed in a collision with an SUV in West Kelowna yesterday morning. It happened in the 2100 block of Horizon Drive near Westview. Despite the efforts of first responders, the cyclist, who was a West Kelowna man in his 60s, died of his injuries. Witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage from around 8am are asked to call RCMP.

The Kelowna General Hospital Foundation and Ronald McDonald House were big beneficiaries from the return of the Okanagan Dream Rally on the long weekend. Estimates are that upwards of one Million dollars could have been raised. Thousands headed down to the waterfront to check out the 200-plus luxury cars and wave them off on their police-escorted run to Penticton.

Sports

The Toronto Blue Jays won 3 of 4 games against the Tigers and are on the road this week. Today they have their first of 2 games against the Rays in Tampa. The game starts at 4:10 at Tropicana Field.

A big loss for the basketball world and sports in general as Celtics legend Bill Russell passed away on the weekend at age 88. He earned 12 All-Star selections, 11 league titles, 11 All-NBA nods, and five MVP awards over his 13-year playing career in Boston.

The Okanagan Sun picked up their 2nd straight win to start the season with a 20 to 7 win over the Langley Rams on the weekend in the Fraser Valley. The Sun host the Westshore Rebels Saturday at 7 at the Apple Bowl in their first home game.

The Formula 1 teams are now on their summer break for a month following the Hungarian Grand Prix on the weekend. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen increased his lead in the driver standings by once again topping the podium against the two Mercedes drivers.

How about some August hockey. Canada plays Slovakia tonight in the Preliminary Round of the U-18 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup tournament in Red Deer. In their first game on Sunday, Canada dumped Switzerland 14-0. Caden Price and Andrew Cristall of the Rockets each had a goal. It’s a short tournament with the Gold medal game on Saturday.

It was a good weekend for a Canadian at the PGA Tour stop in Detroit. Taylor Pendrith stayed at, or near the top of the leaderboard for all 4 rounds and finished tied for second behind Tony Finau.