McDougall Creek Wildfire
Monday, August 28, 2023
STATUS OF McDOUGALL CREEK WILDFIRE IN WEST KELOWNA: REMAINS ‘NOT HELD’
Although BC Wildfire together with fire fighters are making good progress with fire suppression and planned ignition activities, the McDougall Creek Wildfire is approximately 12,635 hectares and remains ‘not held’ in West Kelowna.
This means we are still in an active wildfire stage in several areas, particularly in the West Kelowna Estates area. A well-planned safe return home and recovery operation remains underway, which may include lot-by-lot re-entry for residents. Incremental stages of return will continue, and Fire Chief Brolund indicated that the hard work of recovery continues very well but will take time. Further, essential fire suppression is also required in the hills above West Kelowna, which affects the timing of a safe return home.
Today, Ms. Sally Ginter, EOC Director and CEO of the Central Okanagan Regional District, indicated that further site assessments have been conducted with updated property numbers having significant to full loss. In West Kelowna, the total number of properties with significant damage to full structure loss went up from 67 to 69.
The increase in two properties outlined today is only for West Kelowna, and there are no reported changes to structures on Westbank First Nation land. In collaboration with Westbank First Nation and the EOC, Fire Chief Jason Brolund will be focussing his updates on the West Kelowna wildfire areas moving forward.
The EOC continues to make personal contact with all property owners who have experienced significant damage or full structure loss to their property. This priority, along with everyone working as fast as possible to get our West Community home safely, remains paramount to all organizations involved.
BC Wildfire will continue planned hand and areal ignitions in several areas in West Kelowna that remain necessary to safely rescind Evacuation Orders. This proactive fire suppression work is extremely important and remains part of the safe return home process. The public will see active fire and smoke with this operation. If you are unsure of planned ignition areas in West Kelowna, please contact cordemergency.ca or view information that BC Wildfire has provided here:
Those who are affected by Evacuation Alerts and Evacuation Orders continue to direct all inquiries to cordemergency.ca or call 250-469-8490 (local) or 1-877-569-8490 (toll-free).
For anyone evacuated who has not contacted ESS or visited the ESS Information Centre previously, please please call 1-800-585-9559 to learn more about whether online or in-person services would be best to help you.
VIEW TODAY'S NEWS CONFERENCE
The recorded news conference from today, August 28, can be viewed below.
WATCH FOR ADDITIONAL PHASED EVACUATION ALERTS AND ORDER RESCINDS IN WEST KELOWNA
BC Wildfire and fire fighters continue their priority to extinguish the McDougall Creek Wildfire and return our community home incrementally once it is safe. Please watch for Evacuation Alerts and Evacuation Orders to be rescinded from the EOC today and over the next several days when it is safe to do so. This is encouraging for our West Kelowna community but BC Wildfire and West Kelowna Fire Rescue emphasize that each area must be safe first.
Safe return home factors include:
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Ensuring that fires are extinguished in your neighbourhood;
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Debris must be out of the way;
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Travel to and from your home must be safe, including wildfire crews no longer requiring access to your neighbourhood;
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Utilities must be safely reinstated, such as power, gas and water; and
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Weather continues to play a significant factor in fire suppression and your safe return home.
Neighbourhoods with significant damage will take longer in an incremental return home plan, and the entire team is grateful to everyone affected for understanding the continued risk.
ONLINE PROPERTY SEARCH TOOL
UPDATE: As new data has been added to the online property search tool outlined below, West Kelowna property owners who are on an Evacuation Order are asked to check this online website today for updated information.
The EOC launched an online search tool for City of West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Central Okanagan West Electoral Area properties that have experienced partial and/or full structure loss resulting from the McDougall Creek Wildfire.
Property owners who have been placed on Evacuation Order can search to see if their property has incurred losses by visiting cordemergency.ca/propertyinfo. If your property has not been placed on Evacuation Order, your address will not show. The EOC asks the general public to be respectful of this process – if you are not on an Evacuation Order please do not use the search tool.
A ‘RETURNING HOME INFORMATION GUIDE’ IS AVAILABLE ONLINE
The safe return home for those affected by the wildfire remains everyone’s’ top priority. The EOC has provided a Returning Home Information Guide to help evacuees plan a safe return.
Please visit cordemergency.ca/resources or contact the EOC public information line at 250-469-8490 (local) or 1-877-569-8490 (toll-free).
As described in the Returning Home Information Guide, returning to your home after a wildfire evacuation can be a particularly stressful and traumatic experience. The thought of all the work that needs to be completed so that you and your family can return to your normal lives can feel overwhelming. If you need to talk, call the Mental Health Help Line at 310-6789 (no area code needed) or HealthLinkBC at 8-1-1.
THE FOLLOWING WATER ORDERS AND NOTICES REMAIN IN EFFECT IN WEST KELOWNA
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The Do Not Consumer Order has been downgraded to a Boil Water Notice for the Rose Valley-Lakeview Service Area.
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The Do Not Consume Order remains in place for the West Kelowna Estates Water System.
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The Boil Water Notice for the Sunnyside/Pritchard Water System remains in place.
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Stage 3 Watering Regulations remain in place city-wide.
It is important to note that our reservoirs had fire around them and the water must be safe and meet the requirements of Interior Health before rescinding any water Orders or Notices. All crews are working extremely diligently to restore water safely for our community, and we thank you for your patience.
To view the City of West Kelowna Water Quality Map please click here:
More information from Interior Health about what a Do Not Consumer Order means is here:
CITY FACILITIES RE-OPENED TODAY
The following City facilities have re-opened effective today:
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Multi-Sport Centre
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Johnson Bentley Memorial Aquatic Centre
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Jim Lind Arena
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Royal LePage Place Arena
NEW! REPAIRING INFRASTRUCTURE (ROADS, UTILITIES, ETC)
Road and street repairs (e.g. melted poles and street signs, damaged roads, debris removal, etc), will take longer to assess and complete in the most significantly impacted areas of West Kelowna. In conjunction with this work, City utility repairs will also be completed (e.g. drainage), along with third-party utility repairs (e.g. gas, hydro, cable, etc). Even if a property has not experienced structure damage or loss, the neighbourhood area must be safe to return. All crews are working as accurately and quickly as possible to help get everyone home.
NEW! RDCO UPDATE REGARDING CURBSIDE GARBAGE COLLECTION
This update has been provided by the Regional District of Central Okanagan: Curbside collection of garbage and recycling has resumed for all those areas that are NOT under Evacuation Order, effective Monday, Aug. 28.
No yard waste is being collected at the curbside throughout the Regional District of Central Okanagan until further notice.
The Westside Transfer Station on Asquith Road is open regular hours; however, no yard waste, clean wood or burnt debris is being accepted.
For transfer station info, visit: rdco.com/en/living-here/westside-residential-waste-disposal-and-recycling-centre.aspx.
Find more updated curbside collection information at: rdco.com/recycle.
CITY’S NEXT UPDATE
The next Community Update will be issued on Tuesday, August 29, 2023.
For Information regarding City municipal services, facilities and programs, please reach out if we can help:
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Call: 778-797-1234
Contact Us