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All remaining evacuation alerts for properties in Lake Country and Kelowna have been rescinded as the threat from the McDougall Creek wildfire continues to diminish in those cities.
Across Okanagan Lake, however, little has changed and residents are being reminded that evacuation orders and alerts remain in place in West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Electoral Area West due to the McDougall Creek wildfire.
In a Monday afternoon update, the emergency operations centre said it could take up to two weeks for evacuation orders to be scaled back as crews work to remove hazards, restore infrastructure, and reduce fire risk to make areas safe to return to.
“The public is reminded, for their safety and that of fire crews, not to enter areas under an Evacuation Order,” CORD said.
“Many areas still exist where active firefighting is underway and ongoing dangers like downed power lines, hazardous materials, damaged trees, debris and equipment pose risks.”
The fire measured 13,712.3 hectares on Tuesday, a size that has increased as a result of the planned ignition operations on Aug. 29 and the growth in the Power Creeks drainage.
On Monday, smouldering ground fire with isolated pockets of Rank 1 fire behaviour was observed, BC Wildfire said in an update about the blaze.
“Minor overnight growth may be observed given poor overnight recoveries,” BC Wildfire said.
“Multiple drying days with little to no precipitation in combination with winds gusting upwards of 40 kph from the north would challenge direct attack efforts along the eastern ridge line of the Powers Creek drainage. At this point in time, these conditions are not forecast over the next seven-day period.”
On Tuesday, personnel are preparing for a planned ignition operation in the Hidden Creek area if on-site conditions are favourable.
“This planned ignition operation will remove approximately 25-30 hectares of unburnt fuel and will provide an anchor for crews to safely work from and will provide more opportunities for future planned ignition operations,” BC Wildifre said.
“This planned ignition operation will be the first phase of a larger planned ignition operation.”
The next phases of the planned ignition operation will be utilized to remove 150 hectares of unburned fuels on the north side of Carrot Mountain and an additional 250 hectares on the northwest to west side of Carrot Mountain to bring the fire down to these pre-established areas where crews can safely and effectively extinguish the fire’s edge.
If on-site conditions are favourable, more planned ignitions may get underway, resulting in smoke being highly visible to nearby communities.
Visit cordemergency.ca to view the map, stay up to date on the latest news, and subscribe to e-updates. For more information, contact the information line at 250-469-8490 (local) or 1-877-569-8490 (toll-free).
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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