Vernon News
Succesful planned burn at White Rock Lake will help evacuees return home sooner
Light at the end of the tunnelColin Dacre - Aug 31, 2021 / 4:00 am | Story: 344354
Evacuated residents of Westside Road may now have a light at the end of the tunnel after Monday’s successful controlled burn at the White Rock Lake wildfire.
The BC Wildfire Service says it may now be able to contain the monster of a fire within a week to 10 days, thanks to the 3,000-hectare burn yesterday. Had the fire been allowed to burn naturally, it would have taken six weeks to achieve containment.
Fire officials say the area where the ignitions occurred between Six Mile Creek and Irish Creek Road will continue to burn over the next several days.
“Crews and aerial resources will remain on site to patrol containment lines,” BCWS said. “These ignitions have brought the fire down to established control lines in several key areas on the northeast of the fire.”
The risk of the fire further impacting homes and infrastructure in the area has been greatly reduced.
While BC Wildfire Service said on Thursday they hope to have evacuation orders lifted this week, Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said Monday there is still no timeline for evacuees to return home.The bulk of more than 1,300 properties within the Central Okanagan Regional District have been under evacuation order for a month.
“We understand that residents are anxious to know when they can get back into their communities,” says Corie Griffiths, regional EOC director. “But there is a lot of work that needs to be done across multiple agencies to ensure that these areas are safe before residents return.”
By midweek, evacuees will receive a “return home guide” and be invited to a return-home information session.
The regional district said work outstanding that still needs to be complete before orders lift include assessing all structures for fire-related damage and ensuring residents will have access to telecommunications so they can contact emergency services.
Seventy-eight structures in Estamont, RDCO portions of Beau Park and Killiney Beach have suffered significant damage.
The provincial government is also still assessing the safety of Westside Road, which remains closed.