McDougall Creek Wildfire Evacuation Alerts for West Kelowna and rural Central Okanagan West Electoral Area in effect
Central Okanagan, B.C. – The Emergency Operations Centre has been activated to support BC Wildfire Service for the McDougall Creek Wildfire, located approximately 10 kilometres northwest of West Kelowna.
Evacuation Alerts are in effect for portions of West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and a portion of the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area.
Residents in the area are advised to be ready to leave their home at a moment’s notice. They should be prepared to be away from their home for an extended period of time, make arrangements for pets and pack essential items such as medicines and important documents.
Up to 4,800 properties have been placed on Evacuation Alert in the following communities:
- Bartley Road
- Bear Creek Provincial Park
- Pine Point
- Raymer Bay
- Rose Valley
- Sailview Bay
- Shannon Woods
- Smith Creek
- Tallus Ridge
- Traders Cove
- West Kelowna Estates
- West Kelowna Industrial and Business Park
- Portions of Westbank First Nation IR#9
- Portions of Westbank First Nation IR#10
- Portions of the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area south of Bear Creek Main Forest Service Road, including the Bear Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Site
Due to the number of properties under Alert, refer to the interactive map on cordemergency.ca to search by street address to determine if you are affected.
Bear Creek Provincial Park is also under an Evacuation Alert and campers are advised that the area is an active wildfire zone and be ready to leave the area. Recreation users are advised to avoid the Alert areas within the West Kelowna and Central Okanagan West Electoral Area until further notice.
The BC Wildfire Service is continuing to respond to the McDougall Creek wildfire, which is estimated to be 64 hectares and is highly visible from West Kelowna and surrounding areas.
Weather alerts issued by Environment Canada are advising of gusty winds Thursday and overnight Friday may worsen wildfire conditions and possible new fire starts.
The Emergency Operations Centre is working with other response agencies to manage the situation, however, residents of the area should be prepared to obey an Evacuation Order if needed. An evaluation of the situation is underway and specific details will be released as they are confirmed. Public safety and the protection of critical infrastructure are the primary concerns at this time.
Emergency response personnel request that the general public:
- Pre-register at https://ess.gov.bc.ca/ ahead of time for Emergency Support Services should an Evacuation Order be declared.
- Avoid the Evacuation Alert areas so emergency responders can effectively perform their duties
- Please only call 911 in case of emergency
For up-to-date information on the situation, including a map, and to sign up for e-updates, visit cordemergency.ca. Information will also be provided via twitter.com/CO_Emerg and facebook.com/CORDEmergency.
BC Wildfire Service will provide an update August 17 mid-morning and the EOC will issue further updates when more information is available. For more information, contact the information line at 250-469-8490 (local) or 1-877-569-8490 (toll-free).
For municipal and local government information such as boat launch, park and road closures, visit their websites:
Motorists considering travelling on Highway 97 and Westside Road are advised to visit drivebc.ca for up-to-date road closure information.
