Central Okanagan shifts to recovery mode, more details on fire damage
More residents in the Central Okanagan will be allowed to return to their homes today.
The Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) is working on notifying property owners through the emergency website where homeowners can check their status and then followup by phone.
Officials couldn’t put a timeline on when the information would be live, other than some time today.
“In a perfect world, our preference, without question, would be to personally call every single home owner and be with them when they receive what is probably the worst news they have ever received [losing their home],” RDCO chief administrative officer Sally Ginter.
With the clearing skies and information being shared on social media, some people are finding out by accident their homes are gone.
“This morning on the news I saw someone looking through a camera, and for the first time they saw their house was gone. This morning, when I’m having my morning cup of coffee, I watched [them] in real time experience the worst news of their life,” Ginter added. “The reason we are doing this website isn’t because we don’t care, it is because we do.”
West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund confirmed that 84 properties sustained some level of damage in West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation. An estimated 90 properties have been impacted in the Westside Road with the largest structural loss being Lake Okanagan Resort.
Three property owners in Lake Country and three of four property owners in Kelowna have already been notified that their homes were destroyed.
A number of safety checks are being done in evacuated neighbourhoods before residents will be allowed to return, including sweeping the streets to ensure residents don’t get flat tires from some of the debris.
Chief Brolund defended the need for the precautions.
“The list of things we look at is long, and you know, if we can’t can’t get the streets swept, I understand that and that’s not why we are holding people back. We are holding people back because we are still firefighting in the neighbourhoods. There are pumps and hoses, I can’t have you operating around that. I can’t allow people back while the fire is burning just in your backyard or nearby,” Brolund explained.
The fire chief appreciates the patience evacuees have shown.
“I’m still out of my house, as is my family. I’m feeling the same thing you guys are and I’m running out of underwear too folks. We are going to get this across the finish line.”
The rain that fell in the Okanagan Tuesday night was a welcome sight for firefighters and the thousands of displaced residents.
Brolund said the rain fell “for about an hour,” and dropped about 2 milimetres at the weather station in Rose Valley.
The McDougall Creek fire is mapped at 12,270 hectares, the Walroy Lake (Kelowna) fire is 794 hectares and the Clarke Creek (Lake Country) fire is at 370 hectares, despite the massive firefighting effort on the ground and in the air, all three fires are still listed as out of control.
Incident commander Brad Litke with the BC Wildfire Service said the rain helped subdue the fine fuels on the surface, preventing spot fires. He was asked when the fires could be considered being held.
“We’re making really good progress due to work on the fire ground, and we hope to have some good news in next 24 to 48 hours on the fires on the east branch in Kelowna and Lake Country. We’re moving as fast as we can to get them into being held status,” Litke said.