Multiple homes and businesses in Monte Lake have been burned down, according to Ken Gillis, chair of the board of directors in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
“B-C Wildfire did confirm that a number of structures have been lost, some residential, some commercial,” says Gillis. “We’re hoping that (Friday) there might be a brief window of opportunity for the TNRD to go in and assess the extent of the destruction.”
“It obviously is very very bad, I can’t say that the whole community is gone, but apparently a large portion of it has been destroyed.”
BC Wildfire Service Information Officer Hannah Swift says fire containment efforts were hampered because many people in the area refused to leave their homes, despite an evacuation order.
“Many of our personnel were actually pulled away from actively suppressing the fire to go in to areas that should have been evacuated,” she says. “Many property owners chose not to evacuate from evacuation order areas and this put our first responders at a tremendous risk.”
Wildfire officials had said that the massive blaze near Vernon that forced the evacuation of multiple communities on Wednesday night was displaying “increasingly aggressive fire behaviour” and growing to the northeast.
The BC Wildfire Service said Thursday evening the White Rock Lake fire had breached Highway 97 just south of Monte Lake, and was being driven by strong winds.
Wildfire service personnel and RCMP were on scene conducting tactical evacuations of residents who had defied evacuation orders for the Monte Lake and Westwold areas.
“Tactical evacuations may not always be possible and put first responders at risk,” the wildfire service said.
“In a volatile wildfire situation such as this one, first responders and other authorized personnel may not be able to reach an evacuated area because of a risk to their own safety or because access routes are blocked.”
Structural protection personnel were also deployed to try and defend homes.
The entire community of Falkland and the Cedar Hill area have been placed under an evacuation order.
The fire was estimated at 32,500 hectares as of Thursday morning and is considered out of control.
It has also prompted a highway closure.
Highway 97 is closed because of wildfire activity between Salmon River Road and Monte Creek, east of Kamloops.
Detours are available via highways 1, 97A and 97B.
The next update will be Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m.
Also, residents of more than 270 properties in the Westwold/Monte Lake area are being told to leave.
The properties affected include:
- 5644 to 5737 Back Rd.
- 4732 to 4754 Buff Frontage Rd.
- 6607 to 6725 Bulman Rd.
- 6539 Douglas Lake Rd.
- 3526 to 6975 Hwy. 97
- 4120 to 4249 Kristianson Rd.
- 3787 to 3862 Mill Rd.
- 3754 to 3903 Monte Lake Rd.
- 3928 to 5070 Paxton Valley Rd.
- 6639 Pringle Rd.
- 6572 and 6593 Service Rd.
- 4294 Strong Rd.
- 5469 to 5545 Westlund Rd.
- 6365 to 6504 Westwold Station Rd.
On Wednesday night, the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) expanded an evacuation order to include more homes near Okanagan Lake.
The OKIB says the expanded order now includes addresses located between 11497 Smith Cres (north end) and 11071 Westside Rd. and Mud Hole Rd. (south end), westward to the Reserve boundary.
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Then on Thursday morning, it was expanded again to include Westside Rd. and Louis Estates (northern boundary) to 11501 Komasket Rd. (southern boundary).
Streets included in the evacuation order now include:
- Newport Rd.
- Sqarielks Rd
- Tantalux Rd.
- Tantalux Rd. N
- Louie’s Lane
- Jenny’s Dr.
- The Bunny Path
- Cameron Dr.
- Laverman Dr.
- Brewer Trail
- McMilan Dr.
- Goodwater Dr.
Logan’s Landing - Skookum Mine Rd.
- Mary’s Emerald Bay
- Able Cove Rd.
- Westside Rd. (11505-12127)
- 11501 Komasket Rd.
- Fred Road
The White Rock Lake fire has scorched 325 square kilometres in the three weeks since it was sparked.
Hundreds of properties are on evacuation orders and even more on alert, including 2,400 within the Central Okanagan regional district.
Residents say some people are choosing to stay behind to protect properties.
“I don’t get the sense that people are anxious — just well prepared and calm. I don’t get a sense of any frenzy around town,” Westwold resident Jacqui Gingras said.
“I know this community is very strong,” Westwold resident Debbi Vanderydt added.
“I know we’re very closely knit with the Falkland community, we’re very closely knit to the Monte Lake community, and there are a lot of people out here who are going to do everything they can to keep everything as safe as possible.
“But nobody is going to take crazy chances and put themselves in jeopardy in order to save what they can. But there are people who will stay behind and will fight to keep everything as safe as possible.”
There are now 293 wildfires burning in the province, 37 of which were sparked in the last two days. Thirty-three wildfires of note are burning in the province.
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