Wildfire: As Central Okanagan recovery moves towards rebuild, risks remain

Residents are being warned some fire impacts could still be yet to come in the form of flooding or landslides.

When the White Rock Lake wildfire ripped through several neighbourhoods on Westside Road late last summer, it left a trail of destruction in its wake.

Roughly six months later, most residents who lost homes have not yet started rebuilding.

Although there is hope on the horizon as spring nears, there are still challenges that could delay rebuilding and long-term impacts from the fire that pose a risk to residents.

In the Central Okanagan Regional District alone, around 75 buildings were lost to the blaze.

On Thursday, roughly six months after the fire swept through, the regional district board received an update on the recovery process and heard that it is slowly shifting to a rebuilding phase.

“So far we’ve got a couple of building permits, one development permit. It’s really slowly starting to ramp up as areas are identified as safe to rebuild, then we are sort of moving forward with that process,” said Todd Cashin, the director of community services for the Regional District of Central Okanagan.

However, challenges to rebuilding remain, including the possibility of upslope hazards that require further assessment.

“We can’t allow people to move forward with rebuilding if it is unsafe to do so. We are really working hard to get those assessments done and to work with property owners and get the information,” Cashin said.