Top Stories – Sept 22 – Speaks To U.N.

West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund spoke to delegates at the United Nations about the first days of the McDougall Creek wildfire. He said it was 36 hours that felt like 100 days as gusting winds moved the fire faster than they could keep up. The federal government is hoping Canada’s devastating wildfire season sparks momentum for carbon pricing, or putting a price on pollution, at the UN

It’s a little bit later than usual and already felt like it earlier this week, but today is the first day of fall. Not yet, as it doesn’t officially come in until 11:50 this evening. It will last until December 21st when winter kicks in, in the northern hemisphere.

Good news on Highway 97. It will open to one lane of traffic in each direction starting at noon in the area of last month’s rock slide. Ministry of Transportation contractors built a lock-block wall to protect the highway from falling rock. However the area could be closed down if there is a heavy rainfall.

Glen Lake Wildfire is now estimated at 1,116 hectares. Thanks to cool evenings and overnights, the fire has not grown much, allowing time for additional installation of structural protection measures such as sprinklers around homes. A planned ignition yesterday was to remove unburnt fuel to secure the control lines and achieve containment. Evacuation orders and alerts remain in place.

Beginning Monday and lasting until the end of October, road improvements will be going on at the intersection of Highway 33 and Ziprick Road. It will include a new “smart right” turn designed to create a safer angle for motorists entering and exiting Highway 33 from Ziprick. There will be single lane alternating traffic during the day Monday to Friday and a full closure may occur if necessary.

A report commissioned by the Alberta government estimates the province would be entitled to more than half the assets of the Canada Pension Plan if it were to exit the national retirement savings program and go it alone. The report estimates setting up an Alberta plan would cost between $100 million and $1 Billion, depending on how much the province piggybacks on CPP mechanisms.

After growing to almost 14,000 hectares over more than a month, the McDougall Creek Wildfire is now classified as ‘being held’. With that all evacuation orders except for one property were rescinded. And properties previously on alert have been rescinded except for those accessed from Bear Creek Road including Bear Creek Road, Petterson Road, Dougmac Road and Rose Valley Road. Also, all properties between 1111 and 539 Westside Road South remain on alert.

The City of Kelowna received the 2023 Climate & Energy Action Award in the Community Planning & Development category at the Union of BC Municipalities Convention in Vancouver. It recognizes the contribution Kelowna has made to building resilience to wildfires through its FireSmart program – particularly the Community Chipping Program.

The SPCA has seized 30 Dachshunds from a North Okanagan breeder that the agency says were being kept in terrible conditions. The dogs were taken from a site in the Cherryville area and ranged in age from 4 months to 5 years. They had dental disease, overgrown nails and exposure to high ammonia levels. No word on the status of the breeder.

SPORTS

The regular season gets underway for the Kelowna Rockets tomorrow when they host the Portland Winterhawks at Prospera Place. Regan Bartel will have the pregame show beginning at 6:35 with the faceoff at 7:05 on 1047 the Lizard.

There are two games in the CFL tonight. In the later one, the BC Lions are in Edmonton to take on the Elks at 6:30. The first game is in Ottawa where the Redblacks host the Roughriders at 4.

The Arizona Coyotes are involved in three preseason games in the NHL tomorrow. The first is at noon in St. Louis, followed by a 5pm game against the Blues in Wichita, and then the day wraps up with a game in Melbourne, Australia against the Kings at 9pm our time.

After losing yesterday in New York, the Blue Jays wrap up their final road trip of the season this weekend in Tampa Bay with the first game against the Rays just after 3:30 this afternoon.