No new evacuation orders overnight, but thousands still displaced in B.C.'s Okanagan
CTV
Evacuation alerts expanded on both sides of Okanagan Lake overnight, but there were no new orders for Kelowna or West Kelowna residents to flee the flames of encroaching wildfires.
Evacuation alerts expanded on both sides of Okanagan Lake overnight, but there were no new orders for Kelowna or West Kelowna residents to flee the flames of encroaching wildfires.
Officials scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. Saturday to provide updates on firefighting operations.
As of Saturday morning, the last new evacuation order issued in the Central Okanagan Regional District was for residents of the Smith Creek subdivision in West Kelowna around 9:20 p.m. Friday.
After that time, several additional evacuation alerts were issued, including for the Shannon Lake area and Smith Creek agricultural area to Powers Creek (Glen Canyon) and the North Glenrosa neighbourhood in West Kelowna, as well as for Kelowna's Glenmore Highlands.
Thousands of people remained under evacuation orders and thousands more under alerts Saturday. Residents can view the latest evacuation details on the CORD's interactive map, which is embedded below. A full-screen version can be found here.
Numerous homes have been lost to the McDougall Creek wildfire since it sparked northwest of West Kelowna on Tuesday.
Gusting winds that followed a week-long heat wave drove substantial growth in the blaze on Thursday and Friday, sending the flames right up to the shore of Okanagan Lake in some areas.
