Glenrosa Fire 40% Contained
By 250 News
Monday, July 20, 2009 04:10 AM
Glenrosa fire Saturday, photo courtesy B.C. Ministry of Forests
West Kelowna, B.C.- Two of the three fires which are blazing through the Okanagan are confirmed to have been started by humans.
The Ministry of Forests Wildfire branch says the Terrace Mtn fire , which has galloped to cover 875 hectares, as well as the Rose Valley reservoir fire in West Kelowna were human caused. The cause of the Glenrosa blaze remains under investigation.
More than eleven thousand people spent a second night away from their West Kelowna homes last night, as the evacuation order remains in effect. Thousands more are on standby, ready to leave if ordered to.
There was some good news from forest fire fighting crews, the Glenrosa fire was 40% contained by dinner time last night. The bad news is, three homes were lost. Investigators hope to be able to get to those structures today and get clear address information of the lost and damaged homes.
( at right, fire retardant is dropped on the perimeter of one of the fire, photo courtesy www.castanet.net)
The fires started Saturday afternoon, and by Saturday evening, a state of emergency had been declared in West Kelowna and 6500 homes were ordered evacuated.
While those who are displaced by the fires have been asked to register at Royal LePage Place, the Kelowna SPCA has received 22 animals that have been brought in by the public, a further two dozen animals were picked up in the field.
Firefighters were able to save the Gorman Brothers Mill from the flames. The loss of that mill would have meant the loss of 300 jobs. The embers from Glenrosa touched off a couple of minor fires at the Tolko mill in Kelowna. Fire fighters from the mill worked with others to douse the flames in the hog pile and the mill was spared from any serious damage.
Check with www.drivebc.ca for updated road closure information.
An update on the fire situation in the area is expected later this morning.
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Posted by: swingline on July 20 2009 10:59 AM
That should not be surprising in an urban-wildland interface.
I am somewaht surprised that no one has made any comments on here of the possibility of such a fire happening in PG. I suppose the weekend has slowed that down.
It would be interesting to hear from City Administration, fire deparment, environmental manager, etc. asking what our fuel content is in the forested portions of the city, the component of that which is present due to the dead pines which are still standing in locations such as the Cranbrook Hill escarpment.
Just look at the proximity of houses to forested areas - North Nechako Bench, large parts of the Hart, the older portions of College Heights, portions adjacent to Cranbrook Hill, Miworth, etc.
There have also been days with strong winds here. The forecast is for temperatures above 30 celsius for a week or so by the end of the week.