Top Stories – Aug 23 – Calmer Times

There were no changes to the evacuation orders or alerts for the wildfires last night. In terms of losses, it’s believed there are less than 90 in West Kelowna and less than 100 up Westside Road. The numbers stayed at 3 houses and 2 out buildings in Kelowna and 3 homes and a number of out buildings in Lake Country. West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund said priorities continue to be responder safety, protection of private property, structure evaluation and working on evacuation orders and alerts. The smoke dissipated enough yesterday so that helicopters were once again able to start bucketing the fires. All water restrictions in West Kelowna remain in place. For those returning home, cordemergency.ca has information. From the drop-down menu click on resources and there is a link to a provincial website on returning home after a wildfire.

Premier David Eby visited Kelowna and West Kelowna yesterday. He did a helicopter tour and said the devastation is such that it will be quite some time for recovery. Bowinn Ma the Minister of Emergency Management says the travel order has had the desired effect so the accommodation order part was lifted for every community except West Kelowna at midnight.

Experts are urging Canada to broaden the scope of the country’s weather alert system to account for a broader range of extreme events like wildfires and heat waves. Canada’s Forum for Research and Policy in Communications says emergency notifications should be sent out for any events that have the potential to threaten lives. Some people in the central Okanagan did receive an alert about the wildfires on the weekend.

It is still an evolving situation at Kelowna International Airport as far as commercial flights go. There was limited operations between 9 last night and early this morning. For specific flights, check with your airline and for airport updates, the website is ylw.kelowna.ca/updates .

The all-ages community celebration called Kelowna Made scheduled for Saturday has been cancelled due to the local state of emergency and wildfire situation. This year’s event was slated for City Park, Kerry Park and Stuart Park. They’re trying to determine if it could be hosted in some capacity at a future date.

Crews continue to make good progress on the central Okanagan wildfires thanks to the cooler temperatures and calmer winds. The smoke dissipated enough yesterday so that helicopters were once again able to start bucketing the fires. The McDougall Creek Fire and the two on the east side of the lake were estimated at about 13,300 hectares in total. BC Wildfire says it is working seamlessly with the fire chiefs in the affected areas.

One person is in custody as Kelowna RCMP investigate a homicide. Late Monday night they responded to a home in the 300 block of Hardie Road in Rutland and found the victim who later succumbed to injuries in hospital. This incident is considered isolated and there is no risk to public safety. No other details were released.

The impacts of wildfires in the Okanagan and Shuswap may impact this year’s Interior Provincial Exhibition in Armstrong. General manager Heather King told Vernon Matters, discussions are being held on the status of the event around the Labour Day weekend. Most outdoor activities in the Okanagan have been shut down due to smoke.

SPORTS

At Camden Yards last night, a three-run 10th inning gave the Blue Jays a 6-3 win over Baltimore. The teams will play the 2nd of their three-game series today at 4.

Major League Baseball placed Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco on administrative leave amid an investigation into his alleged inappropriate relationship with a minor.

The Edmonton Elks are hiring Rick LeLacheur to serve as their interim president. The veteran executive most recently served as the president of the BC Lions for four seasons before retiring following the 2022 campaign.