Wildfires consuming West Kelowna in British Columbia

Fongolio
Fongolio Posts: 3,516
edited July 2009 in The Clubhouse
A town about 30 miles to the south of me is being burned by wildfires. It's called West Kelowna (formerly Westbank) very near Kelowna British Columbia. It's about 250 miles northeast of Vancouver.

The area I live in is called the Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia interior. It gets very hot here in the summer and has had daytime temperatures exceeding 32 celcius (90 fahrenheit) for about a week now. Yesterday and today it was in excess of 35 degrees celcius with high winds. A very small brush fire at about 3:00 pm today was accelerated into a massive blaze that has already consumed several homes and many more are expected to go before this fire is brought under control

Some of you may have heard about the 285 homes lost to a similar fire in Kelowna in 2003. These temperatures and conditions are very similar to where in California similar wildfires happen. Extremely dry and hot with wooded areas interfacing with subdivisions.

A massive evacuation has been ordered affecting several thousand people. In this one small area as many as 20,000 people could be affected. The central part of the town itself is being threatened by this fire. Water bombers helicopters and dozens of ground people are working to bring it under control but the fires are gaining and sustained high winds are making very difficult. I hope and pray for the safety of all people in this area.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090718/BC_west_kelowna_fire_090718/20090718/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
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Post edited by Fongolio on

Comments

  • AudioGenics
    AudioGenics Posts: 2,567
    edited July 2009
    this news is 7 hours old....
    Two wildfires near a western Canadian city have forced the evacuation of around 17,000 people, officials say.
  • AudioGenics
    AudioGenics Posts: 2,567
    edited July 2009
    this headline is 3 hours old
    any current updates ?

    Thousands flee wildfires in western Canada

    Monday, 20 July 2009

    Firefighters in western Canada are struggling to contain two wildfires which have forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,997
    edited July 2009
    My aunt and uncle run/manage a ski hill around that area. But they are not in the town right now as they are on a motorbike tour of Canada. Hope their place is ok.
  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited July 2009
    Hope everyone is safe. Have no indication of smoke up here in Yellowknife yet.
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!

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  • AudioGenics
    AudioGenics Posts: 2,567
    edited July 2009
    More than half of West Kelowna fire evacuees will get to return home Tuesday morning.

    Six thousand residents from north of Glenrosa Road and north of Powers Creek will be allowed back into their home.