Elderly Okanagan woman believed to have died in fire

It’s believed a woman in her 90’s, who was blind and deaf, has died in a house fire in Penticton.

Flames broke out after 6 p.m. Wednesday in a home on Lakeside Road next to Skaha Marina.

Despite the full compliment of the Penticton Fire Department, which includes 36 firefighters and 5 trucks, the intense flames consumed the home very quickly.

With heavy winds and the proximity of the neighboring house, the fire ended up spreading to the adjacent structure.

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The couple inside the second home managed to escape unharmed, but the elderly woman in the house that originally caught fire is missing and presumed deceased inside.

Fire crews are working with both the RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service to recover the woman’s body.

Both homes were destroyed.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.