CITY OF WEST KELOWNA COMMUNITY UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

McDougall Creek Wildfire

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

STATUS OF McDOUGALL CREEK WILDFIRE IN WEST KELOWNA: REMAINS ‘NOT HELD’ 

Over the Labour Day long weekend, BC Wildfire with support from West Kelowna Fire Rescue continued fire suppression activity in the Powers Creek drainage area as mentioned in previous updates from the City, BC Wildfire and the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).

As wildfire efforts have transitioned into forest fire operations in the hills and drainage primarily behind the Glenrosa area, BC Wildfire will continue with planned aerial ignitions and fire suppression in the days and weeks ahead. Where the forest terrain permits, on-the-ground support from West Kelowna Fire Rescue and other fire fighters will continue in support of BC Wildfire operations.

Until we have reached significantly cooler temperatures over the next weeks and months, continued fire fighting will occur led by BC Wildfire. This means that the public can expect to see and smell smoke intermittently from controlled burns performed by BC Wildfire behind the Glenrosa area. On clear days, please be assured that active wildfire activity is continuing within the forest.

BC Wildfire has issued an informative video about this forest fire operation to help the community learn more. We’ve provided a link to this video and the links to BC Wildfire’s social media below. 

• YouTube

• Facebook

• Twitter

Should the wildfire behaviour change that poses a risk to the public, the EOC will issue the appropriate Evacuation Alerts and Evacuation Orders. 

It is critically important for the West Kelowna community to watch for changing Evacuation Alerts and Evacuation Orders issued by the EOC and stay connected to cordemergency.ca until further notice.

FOR HELP WITH A SAFE RETURN HOME

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.

FOR HELP WITH WILDFIRE RECOVERY

The Resiliency Centre in Westbank Centre serves as a single point of contact to provide recovery supports and information from a variety of government, non-government organizations and agencies to help people impacted by the wildfire. Information can be found here: rdco.com/resiliency.

FOR HELP WITH CITY SERVICES

For City matters, such as the current boil water notices in place, city roads, drainage systems and other utilities, please visit our wildfire webpage at westkelownacity.ca/citywildfire, call us at 778-797-1234, or email us at citywildfire@westkelownacity.ca.

This is the final Community Update for the McDougall Creek Wildfire issued by the City unless the fire behaviour escalates. Please continue to watch for rescinded or new Evacuation Alerts and Evacuation Orders issued by cordemergency.ca.