McDougall Creek fire damage rises and more work needed before people can safely return home

Progress is being made on the McDougall Creek wildfire, but over 2,000 properties remain on evacuation order and almost 200 structures have been lost.

During a news conference Monday, August 28, representatives from local fire services, the Emergency Operations Centre, the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) and the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) provided an update on the wildfire burning north of West Kelowna.

“Since our last press conference on Saturday (Aug. 26) another 1,000 properties were downgraded from evacuation order, allowing residents to return to their homes, however there are still 2,381 properties under evacuation orders and we understand your eagerness to get home,” RDCO Chair Loyal Wooldridge stated Monday.

He acknowledged people’s frustration with not being able to return to their homes 13 days after the fire ignited in the area, but stated there were several reasons those orders remain in place, including “restoring power and utility services, extinguishing hot spots, conducting controlled burns to mitigate future fires, and ensuring danger trees and damaged structures will not risk the neighbourhood.

He stated recovery will require time and investments from every level of government.

Wooldridge added no lives have been reportedly lost as a result of the fire.

It was also noted that, starting Monday, residents of the Fintry and La Casa areas would see their evacuations orders downgraded to alerts, and people were advised to monitor the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations website for information.

However, more properties have also been lost in the blaze.

“As crews have been able to better and safely access the fire damaged areas, additional site assessments have been conducted,” Sally Ginter, RDCO CAO and emergercy operations centre director, said.

“As we anticipated, additional properties with significant to full loss have been identified, and the number of identified properties have increased from 181 to 189.”

Of the impacted properties that have seen “significant to full structure loss,” Ginter said three were in Lake Country, four were in Kelowna, 19 were in the Westbank First Nation, 69 in West Kelowna, and 94 in the RDCO West Electoral Area. She noted Lake Okanagan Resort, which had a total of 150 units, was considered a single property.

She added no changes have been reported in relation to the Walroy Lake fire in Kelowna or the Clarke Creek fire in Lake Country, both of which were still classified as being held Monday morning, and resources no longer needed in those areas were being redeployed to the McDougall Creek fire.

Ginter said people who’s homes have been lost or severely damaged on the west side of the lake would be contacted in the coming days, adding owners will only be able to have escorted visits to their properties once it has been deemed safe to do so.

Before people can return to their properties, including those that may not have been lost but still remain under the evacuation orders, much more work is needed in the area.

Brad Litke, BCWS incident commander, stated 203 wildland firefighters, 21 structural firefighters, and 31 operational field staff were assigned to the McDougall Creek fire Monday as well as 12 aircraft and 30 pieces of heavy equipment, and that work is ongoing to contain the blaze.

He stated the fire did “challenge the fire guard” in the Hidden Creek area Sunday, which was susceptible as the planned ignitions in that area could not be conducted over the weekend due to conditions, though that work is now set to go Monday as the forecast calls for good humidity compared to the daytime high and light, northerly uphill winds.

Planned ignitions will also be conducted in select areas Monday, including near the West Kelowna fire perimeter, which could cause increase smoke activity visible to the public.

Litke stated crews would also be conducting patrols of the fire perimeters, mopping up hot spots, and repositioning structural protection equipment from areas where they are no longer required to places where they are needed.

West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund stated the firefighting activity in the community has transitioned to a fire fight in the hills, and while residents are returning “slowly but surely,” more work is needed.

“There is still a lot of fire behind our community. We flew over quite a portion of it [Sunday] and were able to see this fire will be with us for a while, not in the streets or neighbourhoods but in the hills above,” Brolund stated, noting while it’s still not safe for some people to return home, progress is being made on the front lines .

“The fire, as many people witnessed [Sunday] and will likely see again [Monday ] is still close but, on the structural firefighting side, we’ve made tremendous progress.”

As of Monday, the West Kelowna Fire Department members were mainly tasked with conducting patrols in neighbourhoods where the evacuation orders remain in place or have just been lifted.

He added the remaining orders will remain in place until it is safe to return to the area, noting work is ongoing to secure the neighbourhoods from future fire behaviour by establishing guards and doing controlled burns, stating a lot of resources are being put towards this work to ensure people can return to their homes as soon as possible.

The neighbourhoods that have seen the most significant structure loss will need more time to ensure danger trees are removed and that power lines can be reinstalled, and Brolund added some infrastructure damage has resulted in unsafe roads and people won’t be able to return home until those issues are addressed.

The fire officials ask people to be patient as work continues to contain the blaze and try to protect further structures in the area.

In some positive news Monday, Brolund stated the Rose Valley Elementary School in West Kelowna was saved and as the evacuation order for the school was lifted so teachers were able to return and prepare to welcome students back to the classrooms.

Litke noted an unauthorized drone flew over the active wildfire Sunday, putting a halt to the aerial operations due to concern for the aircraft and personnel, though adding the operator was later located and the drone was seized.

“This is a reminder that these drones create a significant hazard to our operations and our pilots and crews.”

As of Monday, the McDougall Creek wildfire was an estimated 12,635 hectares in size and classified as out of control.

The news conference Monday was the final one planned for the entire RDCO, and further information sessions will be provided by each community moving forward, with information being tailored to the needs of the residents.

People who are still on evacuation order are advised to register with the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations to get up-to-date information on Evacuation Orders.