Top Stories – Aug 24 – Still Out Of Control

The overall comment on the wildfires is that the weather has been a huge help with measurable precipitation and higher humidity and crews are making good progress, however they will remain classified as out of control for now. There have been 84 properties impacted in West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation, along with 90 in RDCO West Electoral district ranging from landscape damage to complete home loss. There is an area on cordemergency.ca/propertyinfo for evacuated people to put in an address and find out whether or not it has been affected and who to contact for more information. More evacuation orders have been replaced with alerts so more people can go home.

Boaters wanting to access Okanagan Lake are being directed to do so on the south side of the Bennett Bridge or north of Fintry Park. West Kelowna has downgraded the water restrictions to Stage 3 effective immediately… even numbered addresses on Saturdays odd on Sundays.

A survey by the Retail Council of Canada suggests back-to-school shoppers will be spending less money this year due to rising inflation. Sixty-one per cent plan to spend big in the stationery aisle. That’s a turnaround from last year, when stationery didn’t even make the top 10 in a survey by Caddle.

West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund says there are a number of factors to take into account before people can go home… not simply a case of ‘it looks okay’. In rescinding an evacuation order first responders have to make sure the property and surrounding area is free of hazards, if the neighbourhood is protected and secure, if the power and gas are on and if garbage will be collected. They also have to make sure having more people in an area will not hamper fire fighting operations.

A survey by Interac shows how much Canadians rely on their smartphones to make debit payments. It clocked more than one-Billion debit mobile contactless and in-app transactions between last August and last month. Mobile debit payments in stores jumped 53 percent over the past 12 months, driven by Gen Z, who also influenced their Gen X parents to make contactless payments on their mobile phones.

Despite smoke and ash, most operations are moving ahead with fruit picking in the Okanagan. Peter Simonsen, president of the BC Fruit Growers Association says in agriculture they are dealing with natural products, so when you have to harvest, you have to harvest. Arrangements have been made for worker accommodations and they are having to take frequent breaks and wear masks while working.

Prime Minister Trudeau says his government is focused on getting more housing built. He wrapped up a three-day cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, promising concrete action on housing but without offering any specific new initiatives.

SPORTS

Single-game tickets for the Kelowna Rockets 2023 three home preseason games as well as their first two regular-season games at Prospera Place will go on sale to the public this morning at 9.

It’s week 12 in the CFL and it kicks off tonight in Winnipeg. The Bombers host the Alouettes with a 5:30 start time.

The Toronto Maple Leafs locked up star sniper Auston Matthews to a four-year extension with a record-setting average annual value of $13.25 million.

The PGA Tour season wraps up this weekend. 30 golfers including Canadians Nick Taylor and Corey Conners tee off at East Lake in Georgia for the FedEx Cup.