Officials continue to monitor water quality in Mill Creek and Okanagan Lake in Kelowna following chemical contamination as a result of an industrial fire Saturday.
Hot Sands Beach in Kelowna City Park and the beaches around the mouth of Mill Creek on Okanagan Lake will remain closed until further notice. All other beaches remain open.
Water sampling will occur again Wednesday morning.
Boaters are also asked to stay 200 metres from the affected beaches.
A combination of pesticides, glycol, nitrates and fertilizer were washed into the storm sewer from a Kirschner Road chemical distribution warehouse, one of at least seven businesses in the Stewart Centre that burned down in the spectacular blaze.
Kelowna Assistant Fire Chief Jason Brolund says they needed a crew of 50 fire fighters, every available department member including volunteers, to assist in saving surrounding buildings.
Several explosions could be seen and heard from the site immediately following reports of the blaze around 9:30 pm Saturday. Kelowna fire crews had the fire under control near midnight.
An emergency clean up began Sunday morning, centered around the 1800 block of Lindahl Street, a residential community about five blocks away from the fire scene.
Residents reported Mill Creek, a spawning habitat in their backyards, green and foul smelling.
City of Kelowna crews began sand bagging and blocking off culverts Sunday morning to contain and remove the toxic water but testing downstream at the outflow into Okanagan Lake, 2 km away from the fire scene, discovered high levels of chemical contamination.
The City has closed down the beaches on both sides of Mill Creek at Okanagan Lake and Hot Sands Beach, as well as the water in front of the sand on the north side of the WR Bennett Bridge in Kelowna City Park.
Pet owners are being advised to keep their dogs out of the creek and restricted beach areas because of health and safety concerns as the toxic chemicals have begun leaching into the lake, flowing north.
Tanker trucks have been removing water from contained areas of Mill Creek west of Kirschner Road, as well as storm sewers.
Water monitoring at Mill Creek and Okanagan Lake will continue over the next few days.
Fire investigators have yet to release the cause of Saturday night’s blaze.
The Stewart Centre fire shut down Highway 97 for more than six hours into Sunday morning and saw a large area around the blaze evacuated over fears caused by the potentially explosive chemicals within Univar, a national chemical dealer located in the building.
Tenants also included a flooring store, restaurant, spice shop, sporting goods store, irrigation supplier and welding shop.
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