Structures destroyed as dynamic Kelowna wildfire continues
Despite the absence of the dry wind conditions that fanned the flames of the McDougall Creek Fire, the wildfire in Kelowna continues to burn.
At a press conference, West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund provided updates on the current firefighting efforts.
“Yesterday, again, was one of the most difficult days of firefighting our department has ever faced,” said Chief Brolund. “Today, the firefight is on again out there.”
Andrew Levangie/Submitted
Firefighting efforts are being focused on three main areas: following the firefront, supporting evacuation efforts, and protecting structures and properties.
The operation continues to grow, with many firefighters working day and night to combat the situation.
“We have 127 structural firefighters working the day shift today. There are 41 fire trucks,” said Chief Brolund.
Alongside the active efforts to reduce the wildfire, the fire department is also “providing three meals a day for 250 people.”
With the evacuation order in place, one key question addressed in the announcement was the number of homes lost.
While they know many homes have been lost, the exact number is unknown.
With the fire still burning, the conditions are unsafe for firefighters to go on the ground and start counting the number of properties lost. However, Chief Brolund announced that a force dedicated to identifying that number is underway.
“We will start counting the number of houses when we stop fighting the fires that are burning today,” said Chief Brolund.
“We are working today immediately following this meeting to begin to talk about building a dedicated force to go out on the ground and start to identify homes that were lost.”
West Kelowna/Okanagan Lake fire on August 17/18, 2023 (Andrew Levangie/submitted)
As the firefighting efforts continue, the fire department faces the challenge of a water outage in the Rose Valley neighbourhood.
A “do not consume” order is being issued for the Rose Valley Water System, and stage four watering restrictions have been announced for the community.
Chief Brolund asked the public to abide by these rules to aid their efforts.
“We need to conserve what little water remains in those reservoirs for firefighting purposes,” said Chief Brolund.
In a forward-looking announcement, Kelowna Fire Department Chief, Travis Whiting, emphasized that the fire should not be underestimated.
“As we move into these next few days, I want to make sure that people don’t underestimate [the fire] because we don’t see the same level of winds,” said Chief Whiting. “We still see a significant amount of fire activity.”
While action is focused on structural protection and following the fire, firefighting efforts will continue to evolve as the wildfire unfolds.
“Everything is subject to change based on fire behaviour over the coming days,” said Chief Whiting.
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