The B.C. Wildfire Service, the Okanagan Indian Band and the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness provided an update Monday on the Bradley Creek wildfire and what comes next.
The panel included Okanagan Indian Band Chief Dan Wilson, B.C. Wildfire Service Kamloops Fire Centre manager Jeffrey Dunne and Andrew Morrison, director of regional response for the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.
The Bradley Creek wildfire has grown to 2,852 hectares. There are three evacuation alerts and four evacuation orders in effect.
During the update, Dunne provided an operational briefing on the wildfire. He said strong winds, with gusts of up to 80 km/h, fanned the flames toward communities in the Vernon area.
“Over the last few days, we’ve worked diligently with a number of fire departments, a local fire department and a bunch of resources from around the province to really get control of the fire line and extinguish hotspots in and around the community,” Dunne said.
He added there have been significant impacts across the community and crews are working with BC Hydro to make the area safe for first responders.
“The fire has pushed itself into a kind of a north west direction up into a high point and is displaying some challenging fire behaviour up high within the green vegetation,” Dunne said.
He said the recent drop in temperatures made it easier for crews to get closer to the fire’s leading edge.
The main priority for the B.C. Wildfire Service is ensuring the safety of first responders.
Morrison said the ministry has been working with communities across the Okanagan to find as much accommodation as possible.
“Part of that emergency support services is providing support to evacuees in a way that supports them. We can offer some direct referrals and or e-transfers to support some of their own decision making,” he said.
Wilson described what it was like to see the community from a bird’s-eye view during a helicopter flight over the weekend. He said it was “devastating.”
“It looked like a war zone,” he said. “It was hard to recognize my community from the air, with all the structures and the forests gone.”
He said the feeling of loss has not yet sunk in.
“Everything still feels kind of surreal for me and for my community.”
About 230 homes were lost, according to the Okanagan Indian Band.
Dunne said crews expect temperatures to rise over the next few days across the region, along with stronger winds.
“So our priority is getting as much containment as we can on the current fires and really watching out to see if any new ones start.”
He added that when the time comes that the fire is under control, significant challenges will remain.
“Because there was a number of structure losses within this fire, there is, there’s all the toxic waste that comes with any of these properties burning.”
Dunne emphasized there are significant resources required to ensure the fire does not grow larger and is no longer a threat to the public.
An evacuation order has been expanded by the Regional District of North Okanagan for properties on Cain, Nashwito, Banks, Beau Park, Siwash Creek, Beatrice and Six Mile Creek roads. Properties on the west side of Irish Creek Road remain under an evacuation order.
The expansion is due to challenges with evacuation routes as two active fires continue to affect the Westside Road area.
The Regional District of North Okanagan said there is no immediate wildfire threat to the area.
Current updates on the Bradley Creek wildfire are available on the B.C. Wildfire Service website.
