A better sense of the damage wrought by the McDougall Creek wildfire is dawning on officials who found more properties lost in the fire that grew out of control 11 days ago.
Sally Ginter, the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre director, said Monday that as crews have been able to better access the fire-damaged areas, they’ve updated the number of partially or completely destroyed properties to 189 from 181. Some of those properties contain more than one home, most notably Lake Okanagan Resort which had 150 units destroyed.
Owners of these properties will be called in the days ahead, Ginter said.
West Kelowna Fire Rescue Chief Jason Brolund said these properties are in the West Kelowna Estates area, properties with access from Bear Creek Main and the neighbourhoods along Westside Road. The damage in these neighborhoods is extreme and that’s why even those who haven’t lost their home will not be able to return just yet.
“You or your neighbours in many cases have lost their homes and lost everything,” Brolund said, but damage isn’t limited to property lines.
“Power poles are burned, the lines are on the ground, the transformers are tipped over. All of that is being removed and it’s being rebuilt.”
Brolund said there are an abundance of “danger trees,” which are trees that can topple with any sort of windstorm.
“We don’t want people in the vicinity of them. There’s an entire group of people who are out there addressing those,” Brolund said.
“Some of your homes aren’t damaged but the roads leading to them are not safe. Until those roads can be made safe we can’t get you back in to see your house.”
The return home to those 2,381 properties is going to be incremental. It may, Brolund said, be slow.
“We have compassion and sympathy for your loss and we understand what you’re going through. But we’re making progress,” he said, adding that the evacuation order was lifted for RoseValley Elementary School and teachers were able to get back into the school and begin to set up their classrooms.
While recovery is a focus, the fire is still out of control. Mapped at more than 12, 635 hectares, it’s visible throughout the Central Okanagan.
“The firefight in our community has transitioned to a firefight in the hills above our community,” Brolund said.
“We flew over a portion of it yesterday, and we’re able to see that this fire will be with us for a while. Not in the streets and neighborhoods but in the hills above.”
BC Wildfire’s Brad Litke said that the McDougall Creek Wildfire challenged some of the fire guards in the Hidden Creek area over the weekend and planned ignitions were not performed. Part of that 1,300-hectare burn will take place Monday, if conditions are ideal.
“Planned ignitions are being conducted in sections to ensure lower intensity fire behavior is used to minimize tree mortality of the working forest in the recreational forest.”
Litke said it’s the ignition work that allowed BC Wildfire to recommend that orders be rescinded to alerts.
The other fires in the Grouse Complex — Clarke Creek and Walroy Lake — are both classified as “held,” meaning they’re unlikely to overtake BC Wildfire Service boundaries.
Those who use the property notification tool to identify significant to full structure loss will be prompted to fill in a contact information form. Individual calls to impacted property owners commence today and will take a few days to provide additional information and next steps. When it is safe to do so, officials will conduct escorted visits to those owners with significant to full structural loss of property in the affected areas.
The BC Mental Health Support Line is available 24 hours a day at 310-6789 (no area code needed).
Kuu-Us Indigenous Crisis Line is also available for support and can be reached at 1-800-588-8717. Free counselling services are available around the clock with a professional counsellor from Wellness Together Canada by calling 1-866-585-0445 (adults) or 1-888-668-6810 (youth). More information about the resources available can be found at heretohelp.bc.ca.
As Evacuation Orders are downgraded, residents returning home can access frequently asked questions and other resources, including a Returning Home Information Guide, at cordemergency.ca/resources.
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