British Columbia's desperate battle against hundreds of wildfires continues on multiple fronts today, but no new evacuation orders have been added overnight to the thousands already in place across the province. Smoke from wildfires fills the air in Kelowna, B.C., Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
KELOWNA, B.C. – West Kelowna’s fire chief says at least 50 structures have been lost in the city to the 110-square-kilometre McDougall Creek fire burning on both sides of Lake Okanagan in B.C.
Jason Brolund says the damage assessment is not complete and the status of more structures is likely to be confirmed in the coming days.
But, officials say crews have made good progress over the past few days and there has been no structural losses in the last 24 hours.
Crews have been taking advantage of good weather to go into neighbourhoods and extinguish fires around homes, creating a “guard.”
About a half dozen neighbourhoods in West Kelowna escaped fire damage, including Smith Creek, Tallus Ridge, Shannon Lake, the Lenz Road Trailer Park and Rose Valley.
The BC Wildfire Service says weather across British Columbia will be impacted by a hurricane in Southern California.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2023.
