More than 500 people forced out of their homes because of a wildfire near West Kelowna have been allowed to return while firefighters continue to fight the blaze.
What started as a small fire on a steep hillside near Bear Creek Provincial Park late Monday night quickly grew to 39 hectares and forced the evacuation of 106 homes and 550 people. Another 30 homes were put on evacuation alert, with residents warned to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
The evacuation order was lifted at 6 p.m. Tuesday. All the homes remain under evacuation alert.
Retiree Shirley Franko heard a car honking its horn as it drove up her cul-de-sac in the Traders Cove subdivision at about 1 a.m. Tuesday.
“Next thing I knew, I heard voices, so I got up and looked out, saw the flashing lights and I heard [police] hollering at our neighbour, ‘Get out! Get out!’ “ she said.
Moments later, an officer knocked on her door and told her to get going as quickly as possible. She woke her husband and they jumped in their car.
“I got out with just the clothes that I got on and the cat,” she said.
As they drove away, Mrs. Franko saw trees going up in flames next to the road. The fire “got awfully close” to the subdivision, she said.
Dale Bojahra, incident commander with the B.C. Wildfire Branch, described the blaze “as an aggressive surface fire.” He said it came within 400 metres of several homes but did not damage any structures.
An air tanker was able to attack the fire at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Five helicopters with water buckets worked throughout the day, supporting approximately 40 firefighters working on the ground.
By Tuesday evening, the fire was 30-per-cent contained and officials were confident enough to allow residents to return home.
RCMP Corporal Dan Moskaluk said that because there was no rain or lightning in the area, officials believe the fire was set by people but are not yet able to confirm an exact cause.
“The site has yet to be visited by investigators,” he said, adding they won't be able to get in until after the fire is fully under control.
Ms. Franko is used to being evacuated because of forest fires. The last time was in July of 2009, when the 300-hectare Glenrosa fire forced 2,200 people from their homes.
The forested areas around Kelowna and West Kelowna are prone to wildfires but with an unusually wet and cool July, it was a tame summer. Last month, however, was the fifth-driest August on record and fire season appears to have finally arrived.
“This year I wasn’t anticipating this,” West Kelowna Fire Chief Wayne Schnitzler said. “I thought we were through the season.”
Special to The Globe and Mail
