The out-of-control White Rock Lake wildfire is showing aggressive behaviour, say emergency officials, and that could lead to sudden changes.
Burning south of Westwold, B.C., the three-week-old fire is estimated at 32,500 hectares and has spawned several evacuation orders and alerts affecting hundreds of residences, with most being in the Central Okanagan regional district.
The closest edge of the fire is burning around 40 kilometres northwest of downtown Kelowna, but is around 11 km from the community of Killiney Beach on Okanagan Lake.
Further, the BC Wildfire Service said the fire’s eastern-most perimeter was around 8.5 km east of Westside Road.
The Central Okanagan evacuation order, issued during the weekend, affects 544 properties in the Westshore Estates subdivision off Westside Road and rural areas to the west.
Emergency Operations says another 2,400 properties along Westside Road are under evacuation alert — south of Westshore Estates to the Bear Lake Main Forest Service Road intersection just north of Traders Cove.
The alert area also includes all public lands located north of Bear and Esperon Forest Service Road, and the area is restricted to local traffic only.
“Residents in alert areas should be prepared to leave on short notice if conditions in the area change,” Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said Wednesday afternoon. “Residents are reminded that it is unsafe to be in evacuated areas and their presence can put emergency operations personnel in harm’s way.
“RCMP are patrolling within the evacuation area and will be requesting residents leave immediately. Structural fire crews are also in the area conducting assessments.
“Should fire conditions change, all people on alert must be prepared to leave their home or campsite on short notice.”
Below are the evacuation orders and evacuation alerts
Thompson-Nicola Regional District
- Evacuation order for 85 properties
- Evacuation alert for 651 properties
Columbia-Shuswap Regional District
- Evacuation order for 10 properties
- Evacuation alert for 608 properties
Regional District of North Okanagan
- Evacuation order for 32 properties
- Evacuation alert for 14 properties
Regional District of Central Okanagan
- Evacuation order for 544 properties
- Evacuation alert for 2,400 properties
Okanagan Indian Band
- Evacuation order: Information not available
- Evacuation alert: Information not available
Emergency Operations says if you have to leave your residence because of a wildfire, take the following actions:
- Close all windows and doors in the house.
- Cover vents, windows, and other openings of the house with duct tape and/or precut pieces of plywood.
- Park your vehicle, positioned forward out of the driveway.
- Keep your vehicle windows closed and have valuables already packed.
- Turn off propane or natural gas.
- Move any propane barbeques into the open, away from structures.
- Turn on the lights in the house, porch, garage and yard.
- Inside the house, move combustible materials such as light curtains and furniture away from the windows.
- Move all combustibles away from the house, including firewood and lawn furniture.
- Evacuate your family and pets to a safe location.
For more information, visit the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations website.
One hundred and 36 firefighters, including 99 from Quebec, are battling the blaze, as are 11 helicopters and 43 pieces of heavy equipment.
There are also more than 100 structure protection crews in place from 25 different fire departments.
“Structure protection personnel are prepared to defend Westwold, Falkland, Cedar Hills, Pennask Lake and communities along Westside Road, including Okanagan Indian Band IR No. 1,” said BC Wildfire information officer Hannah Swift.
“That being said, defending structures from wildland fires is not possible in every situation. Several factors, including risks to firefighters, fire behaviour and the availability of resources, will dictate our ability to successfully defend threatened structures.”
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