B.C. wildfire situation has improved
But "the battle is not over," as officials note.
Wildfires raging across B.C. last week led to the evacuation of more than 30,000 people last week. By the end of last week, however, cooler weather had allowed firefighters to make some progress in fighting the blazes. Still, officials say the fight against the elements is far from over.
Smoke from wildfires has blanketed parts of British Columbia and Washington state in the US, prompting air quality warnings. Smoke blanketing much of the southern part of the province has triggered air quality alerts. In regions such as the Eastern Fraser Valley and Central Okanagan, air quality has been categorized as "very high risk" by Environment Canada.
West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund calls smoke a major problem.
"Our biggest challenge has been air quality. It is choking," Brolund shared with the press.
It is also noted that the lack of visibility due to smoke makes it difficult to assess the damage caused by forest fires.
Fortunately, no fatalities from the wildfires have been reported yet. However, officials say that some firefighters continue to work even after learning that their homes have burned.
West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said firefighters entered the Upper Bear Creek Road area on Monday. That's where the worst fire was raging.
"What they found was that a hurricane had passed through. Trees were ripped out by their roots, and the force it takes to do that is incredible," Brolund shared with reporters.
He also said about 50 structures in West Kelowna have been affected by the fires. However, the most affected areas are yet to be surveyed. However, it is already certain that the historic Lake Okanagan Resort has been affected
Air quality remains poor in Kelowna, but the city's fire chief says a team of 500 firefighters has made significant progress over the past 4 days, again helped by the cooler weather. However, he's confident there will be some tough days ahead for the fire department.
British Columbia remains under a state of emergency, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing Sunday that the military has been sent to the province to help with evacuations.
Considerable damage, as was known as late last week, has been done to the communities of Celista and Scotch Creek on the shores of Lake Shoosoop. In Scotch Creek, a fire station was burned, among other things. However, a full assessment of the damage has yet to be made.
The B.C. government says a 50-person search and rescue team has been dispatched to Kelowna to assess the damage. It includes firefighters, rescue workers, police officers, engineers and doctors.
According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC), 1,037 fires were burning across Canada as of Monday, 650 of which were considered out of control.
