Nearly 1,000 homes on evacuation alert, order over wildfires in B.C.’s Okanagan
SUMMERLAND, B.C. — The occupants of nearly 1,000 homes have either been forced to evacuate or must be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice as wildfires rip through British Columbia’s scenic Okanagan region.
A lightning storm hit the popular tourist area in B.C.’s southern Interior earlier this week, sparking multiple wildfires including one major blaze that has grown to 10 square kilometres.
“Things are quite busy right now and the situation down there is pretty volatile,” said Chief Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek, speaking from Kamloops, just north of the Okanagan.
“The Okanagan is our main area of concern, given that we’ve got that cluster of fires between Kelowna and Penticton, and given how close a lot of those fires are to communities.”