Lake Country Mayor Blair didn’t pull any punches in updating the public on Saturday morning.
Less than a minute after sitting down to discuss the wildfire damage to his community, Blair said, “We have lost structures in Okanagan Centre.”
The mayor continued, saying, “We cannot get into the details; they’re presently fighting fires all around that area and trying to save them.”
The Clarke Creek fire in Lake Country is currently estimated at 174 hectares, and three evacuation orders have been issued for the area.
Blair continued, saying, “Last night, (our fire crews) were overworked. And they’re continuing to work hard.
“So we’d like to say thank you to all those other fire departments from all over the province that have come from as far away as Vancouver Island, holding up a ferry to get here. And that’s really appreciated.”
He also said incoming police officers are highly welcomed as well.
“Right now, in our community, we need those police,” said Blair. “We have a lot of activity along our area.
“Lots of people trying to visit and get views of houses. We have a lot of boat traffic. I personally witnessed the RCMP chasing yachts away from our area that were cruising up and down this morning.
“It’s very frustrating that they have to pay attention to that sort of thing. They’re here to look after our communities and look after our people and us.
“So, please, people, stay away. You can see the fire on TV. It’s not that great, trust me.”
On Saturday afternoon, an evacuation alert was added to Lake Country.
Properties affected by the alert include all properties west of Highway 97, south of Okanagan Center RoadEast and Oceola Road to the existing evacuation order boundary.
A map is available online.