NASA map shows West Kelowna painted red from raging wildfires

A fast-moving wildfire has gripped the Okanagan and caused widespread destruction in West Kelowna and Kelowna as of Thursday night. The McDougall Creek fire destroyed buildings and trapped residents and many were forced to evacuate their homes.

In the US and Canada map from the NASA Fire Information and Resource Management System (FIRMS) fire-impacted areas of the Okanagan are identified via satellite imagery. Parts of West Kelowna and Kelowna are marked red indicating the extent of the wildfires as of 3 pm on August 18.

FIRMS US/Canada map/NASA

The map also shows the timeline of when the fires were detected. The yellow-coloured areas indicate fires detected more than a day ago while the red-coloured areas show the most recently detected fires.

FIRMS US/Canada map/NASA

At the moment, the fire is estimated to be 68 square kilometres in size and is burning on both sides of the Okanagan Lake, lighting up both West Kelowna and Kelowna. The firefighters cannot confirm the number of destroyed buildings yet according to Cliff Chapman, director of provincial operations.

“I’ve been in the BC Wildfire Service my entire career, over 20 years, and there’s only a few dates that will always be engraved in my head. Yesterday is one of those days,” Chapman told Daily Hive.

BC provincial government officials are urging tourists to stay away from BC’s Interior. Across BC, nearly 4,500 people have been ordered to evacuate and another 23,000 are on alert to leave their homes at a moment’s notice because of wildfire danger. In Kelowna, people have been ordered to leave their homes on both sides of Okanagan Lake.

Areas in orange are under evacuation alert and areas in red are under evacuation order. (BC Wildfire Service)

Daily Hive also connected with a Kelowna resident who told us that the fires “looked like Armageddon.”

From treelike burn to 10 mins later, the fastest spread I’ve ever seen for a fire.

Shortly after it hopped the lake. Currently burning in Clifton, McKinley and Lakestone.

Some roads are being blocked to Vernon, go south to west Kelowna

Kelowna airport now shut down#kelowna pic.twitter.com/cYFoSgkq2C

— Tyler (@tylerbalaban) August 18, 2023

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