Evacuation Alert remains for Brenda Creek wildfire News Release No. 11
News Release No. 11 Central Okanagan, B.C. – With the BC Wildfire Service strong wind advisory and the unpredictable impact on the Brenda Creek wildfire, the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre encourages residents and businesses that could be affected by any extended power outage to make emergency preparations. Information and links are available at www.cordemergency.ca/beprepared.
The Evacuation Alert continues within a section of the Regional District of Central Okanagan Central Okanagan West Electoral Area affected by the fire, south of Highway 97-C and northwest of Peachland. A map showing the details of the Alert area is online at www.cordemergency.ca/map. The Alert also includes portions of the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen and Thompson Nicola Regional District and anyone affected in those regional districts should check with their emergency program for the latest information. This area is also affected by a BC Wildfire Area Restriction Order.
Even with the efforts of the BC Wildfire Service and structural firefighters from Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland and North Westside to defend and protect the main BC Hydro line and transmission corridor, the fire remains out of control at an estimated size of 450 hectares.
Local fire crews continue to extinguish hot spots, conduct fuel mitigation and monitor conditions along the hydro corridor.
BC Hydro continues active monitoring of its line and infrastructure in the fire area and its crews are on standby to respond as needed. Customers are encouraged to learn more about preparing for any potential electricity outage by visiting BC Hydro’s website:
- Preparing for a power outage - www.bchydro.com/safety-outages/power-outages/prepare-for-outages.html
- What to do during a power outage - www.bchydro.com/safety-outages/power-outages/during-an-outage.html
- What to do after your power is restored - www.bchydro.com/safety-outages/power-outages/during-an-outage.html#after
The next update from the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre is anticipated at 12 p.m. Thursday. In the meantime, the EOC remains ready to respond to any change in fire conditions as it supports first responders on the Brenda Creek wildfire.
All Central Okanagan residents are reminded that they should know the risks of potential emergencies, make a plan and prepare grab and go kits in the event they are required to leave their homes for at least 72 hours.
The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations website cordemergency.ca Be Prepared page is a centralized location for regional public emergency and preparedness information, including links to useful provincial and federal emergency resources such as PreparedBC, BC Wildfire Services, Emergency Management BC and Air Quality readings.
Be sure to sign-up for e-updates to receive timely updates directly to your inbox about emergency incidents. The Central Okanagan Emergency Operation Centre also provides information on Facebook at facebook.com/CORDEmergency and Twitter at twitter.com/CO_Emerg.
