“There are no confirmed reports of structure damage in the area overnight.” says Alex Van Bruksvoort, North Westside Fire Chief
Due to desperate need for information on this fire by the residents of the North Westside I wanted to post this update to the Board for my residents. This End of Week Update – White Rock Lake Fire is for Friday Aug 13 2021@2:44pm and comes directly from the EOC Director to the RDCO Board members.
Good Afternoon Directors;
Just a quick recap of the events of the week and a projection of what the weekend will bring with regard to the White Rock Lake Fire.
The size of the fire increased approximately 3,000 ha. to a total of 58,000 ha. BC Wildfire has allocated 195 Wild Fire Fighters, 73 pieces of heavy equipment, 15 helicopters, 119 structural fire fighters, 18 Fire Engines, 16 Tenders, and 6 mass water systems to the White Rock Lake Wildfire at this point.
During the past week good progress has been made on building fire guards, conducting strategic back burning in the Killiney Beach Area, deploying structural protection sprinkler systems in Westshore Estates and Killiney Beach as well as fire smarting & hardening residential properties. On Thursday August 12th, 2021 the wildfire travelled 1.5 kilometers which led to reinstating evacuation orders for Fintry and La Casa properties and generating a new Alert Area just to the south.
While Emergency Support Services has been strained due to the number of evacuations in our area as well as throughout the province, they were able to extend reception hours and serve people until 7 pm. on August 12th. Our volunteer group has done an amazing job considering the circumstances. We are looking at different ways in which we can support and improve our ESS program.
We have not received any further reports of damage from our structural fire crews within the patrolled areas of the North Westside Fire Service Area since the announcement of 6 structures on 4 properties outside of the fire protection area being damaged by fire on August 11th.
This fire remains the #1 priority for BC Wildfire and remains very concerned with hot, windy conditions returning this weekend. BC Wildfire has stated they are anticipating increased fire activity over the weekend with potential high winds causing aggressive fire behaviour.
EOC news releases and EOC communications can be viewed at cordemergency.ca ; these communications are also posted on the EOC social media Facebook and Twitter channels.
As circumstances change additional updates will be provided.
Kind regards,
Brian Reardon
EOC Director
Central Okanagan, B.C. – Aug 13 2021@09:17am – The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre advises there is currently no change in Evacuation Orders and Alerts for the White Rock Lake wildfire. With this weekend’s forecast calling for hot and dry conditions, residents are reminded to remain alert and subscribed to cordermergency.ca for updates. A detailed map showing the present status of Orders and Alerts affecting properties within the RDCO is at cordemergency.ca/map.
“Working alongside other agencies, fire fighters continue their hard work, patrolling for hotspots and combustibles to mitigate potential fire growth,” says Alex Van Bruksvoort, North Westside Fire Chief. “There are no confirmed reports of structure damage in the area overnight.”
Volunteers continue to staff the Emergency Support Services reception centre, 1480 Sutherland Avenue in Kelowna from 10 – 6 p.m.
Residents that are on Evacuation Alert must be prepared to leave their home on short notice. Information and links to help with emergency preparations is available at cordemergency.ca/beprepared.
For the latest information on Westside Road access and closures please visit drivebc.ca.
The Emergency Operations Centre is providing support to first responders and those in the field that are working on the White Rock Lake wildfire.
Emergency response personnel request that the public:
- Avoid the area so emergency responders can effectively perform their duties
- Boaters are asked to steer clear of air supports.
- Please only call 9-1-1 in case of emergency.
- Call *5555 on a cell phone to report a wildfire.
- Monitor cordemergency.ca, facebook.com/cordemergency or twitter.com/CO_emerg for official situation updates and preparedness information.
For more information about this wildfire, visit cordemergency.ca, sign up for e-updates, or call the information line at 250-469-8490.
