Live updates: West Kelowna, B.C., wildfire no longer out of control, wildfire service says

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The fire in West Kelowna is no longer out of control, the B.C. Wildfire Service says, and is now "being held" — which means crews don't expect it to spread further.

The wind has died down and the smoke has dissipated, but helicopters are still dropping buckets of water on homes and trees less than a block from here.

Some of the homes and trees in the neighbourhood are stained red with fire retardant that was dropped earlier today.

Residents are waiting anxiously at the evacuation line, wanting to get back home. Some people had to leave pets behind.

Police are asking boaters on Okanagan Lake to steer clear of Kalamoir Park to give waterbombers plenty of room to fill up.

“We were pleasantly surprised with the cooperation from local residents,” said Const. Ash Puri, media resource officer with West Kelowna RCMP. “The fire did come very close to certain properties bordering Kalamoir Park and those residents that were affected were more than happy to leave.” 

Joe Gluska and his family were among the first to be evacuated because they live close to Kalamoir Regional Park.  

"The smoke was very, very thick, as a result of the water being put on it, and the wind was quite strong," Gluska said. 

"It was blowing right toward our house, so it made it very difficult to see."

He said people in his neighbourhood started to get nervous once police arrived and started blocking off roads but, fortunately, the evacuation went smoothly. 

Now, Gluska says his family is just hoping they packed everything they'll need in the short term while they're out of their home — while also worrying about what they left behind "that can't be replaced" if their home is damaged by fire.

Brolund is urging homeowners with cedar hedges to choose the fire smart option and remove them. 

"I've been saying this every chance I get, yet here I am standing at our incident command post in this neighbourhood surrounded by homes with cedar hedges," the fire chief said. 

"This fire is early in the wildfire season. We are likely to potentially have a lengthy wildfire season again this year. This is a wake-up call and there is still time for people to take very simple actions around their homes to protect them."

"I know it's scary in almost every case, and I also know we're inconveniencing hundreds of thousands of people with the road closures and evacuations we have in place, but it's necessary. 

"We are having success and we are saving homes by inches. So allow us the space to do our work. Be patient with us this aftenoon… We are making progress."

Elsewhere in B.C., an evacuation order and alert have been issued for an area south of Kamloops, where the Kullagh Creek wildfire is burning out of control. 

The fire, just off Highway 5A on the western shore of Stump Lake, was discovered this morning, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service. It was initially listed at 30 hectares in size, but has since grown to an estimated 130 hectares (1.3 square kilometres). The cause of the fire is under investigation, the wildfire service says. 

One property has been ordered to evacuate, and an evacuation alert has been issued for the surrounding area. Officials have also declared a local state of emergency.

As our reporters on the ground have mentioned, wind is the critical factor right now. Since about 8 a.m. PT, we've seen southwest winds gusting between 40 and 50 km/h. That is both feeding oxygen to the flames and pushing active embers directly northeast.

Fire weather forecasters consider conditions to be extreme when three specific thresholds are crossed: winds gusting over 30 km/h, temperatures above 30 C, and relative humidity dipping below 30 per cent. 

We are hitting two out of those three benchmarks right now: it's dry and windy, and temperatures are sitting just a few degrees shy of that 30 C mark.

A small low-pressure system currently forming over the southeastern part of the province is controlling these winds. This system could bring a few much needed showers to the Okanagan tonight, but widespread soaking is not expected. Winds should ease overnight.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, winds will pick back up in the afternoon, but the big story will be a shift in direction. By Wednesday afternoon, those winds will be coming out of the northwest, changing the direction the fire is being pushed.

The B.C. Wildfire Service has 12 personnel currently assisting the lead West Kelowna Fire Department, and more firefighters are on the way, said Shae Stearns, information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre. 

Stearns stressed that people need to stay informed through "accurate channels" like the West Kelowna Fire Department and Central Okanagan Regional District.

She encouraged anyone reporting a wildfire to take a photo and submit it through the B.C. Wildfire Service's mobile app. 

Lise Guyogh in Kelowna says she lost everything in the McDougall Creek fire in 2023. Now, she's watching closely as another fire burns near the community.  

"It's a little traumatizing because we know what everyone who's been evacuated is going through," she said. "It can be pretty scary."

Speaking from experience, she advises everyone in the Okanagan to make sure they have their insurance papers handy, and to try to take photos of everything they have in their homes, just in case.

"This is a day that we knew could be coming," he said. 

His crew has been fighting the fire since mid-morning. He said it started in Kalamoir Regional Park and "spread very rapidly" to threaten "hundreds of homes," but none have been lost — though some, he said, were saved by inches.

Brolund said more than 100 firefighters are working on the fire right now, and firefighters from other departments are helping out. 

Right now, he's "cautiously optimistic" about the situation. 

"We are continuing to give it our all," he said.

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