Mother Nature Central Okanagan’s Newsmaker of the Year
Whether flooding, fires or drought, weather-related events dominated news during much of the past year
It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.
In what was described as B.C.’s worst wildfire season in recorded history, combined with an unprecedented flood of Okanagan Lake and a six-week dry spell, everyone was talking about something weather-related in 2017.
Mother Nature has been chosen the Central Okanagan’s Newsmaker of the Year by The Daily Courier’s news department.
The strange weather began on the night of May 4, when a sudden surge in the flow of Mill Creek launched five weeks of steadily rising lake levels. Local residents who had lived in the area their whole lives had never seen anything like it.
Along with beaches that vanished, docks were destroyed, houses were damaged, and the total cleanup cost for Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country is estimated at $20 million.
The level of Okanagan Lake peaked on June 8 at 343.25 metres above sea level, an all-time high.
Many blamed provincial officials, in part, for not widening the release gate at the Penticton dam earlier in the spring to draw down the lake level.
Once flooding was subdued, Mother Nature’s wrath came with devastating forest fires, including a major wildfire that began Aug. 24 in the Joe Rich area, east of Kelowna. More than 1,110 residents were put on evacuation order.
Earlier in the summer, on July 15, eight homes were destroyed when fire broke out on Nighthawk Road in Lake Country.
A 1,000-hectare fire between Peachland and Summerland brought Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the area, where he flew over the devastation and met with firefighters and thanked them for their heroics.
Even if you weren’t near a fire, there was always a constant reminder as smoke blew across the Valley, resulting in newspaper headlines such as “Smoke-anagan.”
To make things more challenging, for 44 straight days Kelowna received no rainfall — the second longest dry spell ever. July and August set records for all-time high temperatures.
There was a concern in agricultural circles about the extended drought, even with irrigation systems in place.
Just to end the year with a bang, Mother Nature dropped a record snowfall on the Okanagan on Dec. 28. Accumulated snowfall of 20 centimetres shattered the day’s old record of 15.2 cm, set back in 1923.
Tourists stayed away in droves during the summer. Tourism operators in the Okanagan used the words “high-water levels” instead of “flooding” to describe the status of Okanagan Lake. Many special events and festivals were cancelled due to smoke. According to the Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association, revenue losses were between five and 20 per cent for businesses dependent on visitors.
Even in the chaos of fire season, there were many good news stories. Firefighters from across B.C. were praised for their outstanding work. Communities rallied together to help those who were displaced by fires. Volunteers, including school kids, helped line the shore with sandbags. Many tourists who had trips booked to the Okanagan simply chose to do something other than visit the beach.
As cruel as Mother Nature was, she did treat us to something wonderful. On the morning of Aug. 21, there was a total solar eclipse. Ken Tapping of the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton described the event as “tailor made for people observing from North America.”