'Just an awful scene': Sask. baseball teams forced to flee Kelowna due to wildfire risk
CTV
It was a sight Broden Bilokreli won't soon forget – stepping off his flight at Kelowna's International Airport and witnessing an ambient orange glow cover the mountains in the distance.
It was a sight Broden Bilokreli won’t soon forget – stepping off his flight at Kelowna’s International Airport and witnessing an ambient orange glow cover the mountains in the distance.
“You could see the smoke kind of bellowing over the mountain. You'd look up at it, you’d see that orange hue and it’s like ‘Man, why are we even here?’”
The reason was baseball. Bilokreli works as a coach for the Vale Country Parkland Expos – a 18U AA team based in Yorkton.
Kelowna was set to host the annual AA Western Canadian Baseball Championships this weekend.
The event saw 15 teams from 13U, 15U and 18U divisions travel from across western Canada to compete.
Three of the teams hailed from Saskatchewan: The Prince Albert Royals, the Lumsden Cubs and the Expos.
Due to the worsening wildfire situation in B.C., it was only a matter of time before the blazes affected the tournament.
