Summer wildfires put scare into South Okanagan
Editor’s note: This is the ninth in a series of articles counting down the top 10 news stories of 2017, as voted by staff at the Penticton Herald. The top story will be revealed Dec. 29.
Hot weather and a lack of precipitation across B.C. led to a huge portion of the province being lit by fires this past summer, with a few starting a little too close to home for comfort. Following an extremely wet spring, the South Okanagan experienced nearly three months without precipitation – the longest such stretch on record — resulting in dry shrubs and brush that would ignite with a single spark.
Kaleden saw a devastating fire break out on July 4, causing hundreds of people to evacuate as the 6.5-hectare fire scorched along a hillside between Oak Avenue and the KVR Trail just above Skaha Lake.
“We lost one home, which was very, very emotional and upsetting for everybody — especially the homeowners — but I can tell you I witnessed at least six houses that, with all the crews working together, we saved,” Kaleden fire chief Denis Gaudry said at the time.
The blaze was considered 100 per cent contained by the following afternoon.
Residents in the West Bench area had a scare on July 20 when a fast-moving blaze exploded into existence just after 9 a.m. in a grassy, wooded gully about 10 metres downslope from homes. It grew to approximately one hectare in size before it was fully contained around noon, but not before 40 homes had been evacuated as a precaution.
Penticton fire Chief Larry Watkinson said it was “as close as you can get without losing structures.”
He said the fire was fed by a “huge amount” of fuel on the ground, such as dry grass and dead trees.
The largest and most destructive fire of the region this year, however, was the wildfire near Princeton discovered on July 7.
By July 12, the fire had grown to 2,000 hectares in size, with 350 homes ordered evacuated.
Those orders were not lifted until July 27, once the wildfire, which had grown to 3,300 hectares, was deemed fully contained.
And in September, the Finlay Creek fire scorched 2,200 hectares of forest west of Summerland, where dozens of homes were evacuated as a result.
The BC Wildfire Service later closed 80 square kilometres of backcountry in time for hunting season to cut the risk of more blazes starting.
Fires in other areas of the province also hit close to home, with an emergency reception centre set up at the Penticton Community Centre.
Among the first to arrive on July 16 was Williams Lake woman Rhonda Labelle, who fled 12 hours before the city of 10,000 was ordered evacuated.
“The smoke was so bad, you couldn’t even see from here to that post,” Labelle said at the time, gesturing to a lamp standard about 10 metres away in the parking lot of the community centre.
“It was just horrible.”