CITY OF WEST KELOWNA COMMUNITY UPDATE: AUGUST 29, 2023

McDougall Creek Wildfire

Tuesday, August 29, 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 remains ‘not held’ in West Kelowna.

Weather remains a significant factor with wildfire protection and suppression in West Kelowna so please continue to watch for new and changing Evacuation Alerts and Evacuation Orders issued by cordemergency.ca.

West Kelowna is still very much in an active wildfire stage in several areas, particularly in the hills above West Kelowna. Residents in the Glenrosa area will also notice very active fire fighting in the coming days.

As of today, the number of West Kelowna properties with significant damage to full structure loss remains unchanged at 69. The EOC continues to make personal contact with all property owners who have experienced significant damage or full structure loss to their property.

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.

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. 

For anyone evacuated who hasn’t 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.

A safe return home factors include:

• Ensuring that fires are extinguished in your neighbourhood;

• Debris must be out of the way;

• Travel to and from your home must be safe, including wildfire crews no longer requiring access to your neighbourhood;

• Utilities must be safely reinstated, such as power, gas and water; and

• 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.

Today, as a matter of procedure, a special Council meeting was held to ratify the City’s State of Local Emergency (SOLE), and to extend the SOLE for a further seven days. At today’s Council meeting, Mayor Gord Milsom reiterated that, on behalf of Council, his heart goes out to families who lost their homes to the McDougall Creek Wildfire, and to those who have lost homes to other wildfires in the region. Mayor Milsom mentioned that dramatic and shocking images of the McDougall Creek Wildfire brought national and global attention to West Kelowna. He expressed his appreciation for all the emails, text messages and phone calls expressing concern for our well being, and for providing ongoing support and encouragement. Mayor Gord also thanked our West Kelowna fire fighters, BC Wildfire and the fire fighters from so many other communities for saving thousands of homes, and for saving key municipal infrastructure, including our new water treatment plant set to open soon.

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

• The Do Not Consume Order has been downgraded to a Boil Water Notice for the Rose Valley-Lakeview Service Area.

• The Do Not Consume Order remains in place for the West Kelowna Estates Water System.

• The Boil Water Notice for the Sunnyside/Pritchard Water System remains in place.

• 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:

• westkelownacity.ca/waterqualitymap

More information from Interior Health about what a Do Not Consumer Order means is here:

• drinkingwaterforeveryone.ca

• Interior Health Water Advisory Information

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! UPDATES FROM THE CENTRAL OKANAGAN REGIONAL DISTRICT

1) FRIDGE AND FREEZER TEMPORARY COLLECTION PROGRAM

Ruined fridges and freezer curbside pick-up will begin immediately for residents that have been affected by significant power outages through Rapid Response Industrial Group. Residents should contact their insurers about what to do with home contents including spoiled food, fridges and freezers before they take action. Insurers sometimes require inventory of photos. Once they have been collected, they cannot be returned.

Steps to take for fridge and freezer curbside pick-up:

1. Email: info@rapidresponseind.com to schedule a pick-up.

2. Do not open fridge and seal with duct tape prior to moving.

3. Move appliances from your home and place on curbside or driveway by 8 a.m. on the scheduled day of pick-up.

4. To reduce wildlife conflicts in neighbourhoods, resident should not put fridges or freezers outside until just before scheduled collection time.

Requests submitted before 4 p.m. will be picked up the following day before 4 p.m. Requests after 4 p.m. are subject to 24-hour delay of pick-up. Special requests with extenuating circumstances can contact (956) 302-6611 to facilitate pick-up for residents with mobility challenges.

Curbside pick-up of ruined fridges and freezers will be available until further notice.

2) LIMITED LANDFILL OPERATIONS

The Glenmore Landfill is currently only accepting household waste for disposal. Residents impacted by the wildfire should be careful to ensure loads to the landfill do not contain hot or smoldering debris. Smoldering waste in bins has ignited fires at the landfill in recent days, which required quick action by staff to contain.

HOW THE PUBLIC CAN HELP: EXAMPLES OF WILDFIRE RELIEF EFFORTS

Canada is seeing its worst wildfire season on record this year and many in and around our West Kelowna community have asked how to help. Your support can definitely help make a difference.

Just a few of the registered charities that are helping to collect donations for wildfire relief are:

• West Kelowna Professional Firefighter Charitable Society: Central Okanagan Relief Fund - centralokanaganfirerelief.ca

• Central Okanagan Food Bank: BC Wildfires Emergency Food Relief Fund - cofoodbank.com/donate/

• Central Okanagan Foundation: 2023 Wildfire Response Fund - centralokanaganfoundation.org/

• The Salvation Army British Columbia Division: British Columbia Wildfires - canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-salvation-army-british-columbia-south-division/campaign/british-columbia-wildfires/

• Animals Lifeline Emergency Response Team (ALERT): Wildfire Animal Evacuees - canadahelps.org/en/charities/animal-lifeline-emergency-response-team-society/campaign/wild-fire-animal-evacuees/

• United Way British Columbia: United for BC Wildfire Recovery Fund - uwbc.ca/campaign/wildfires

• Canadian Red Cross: British Columbia Fires Appeal - donate.redcross.ca/

• YMCA of Southern Interior BC: BC Wildfire Evacuee Support - ymcasibc.ca/Donate

There are many other certified organizations and options, too. Local community fundraisers, music festivals and other opportunities are or soon will be underway to help our resilient community.

CITY’S NEXT UPDATE

The next Community Update will be issued on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

For wildfire information regarding City municipal services, facilities and programs, please reach out if we can help:

• Call: 778-797-1234

• Email: citywildfire@westkelownacity.ca

• Visit: westkelownacity.ca/citywildfire