Gusty winds threaten as Okanagan Lake continues to rise | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kelowna News

Gusty winds threaten as Okanagan Lake continues to rise

The boat launch and dock at Okanagan Centre Safe Harbour Regional Park in Lake Country is closed due to rising water on Okanagan Lake.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED

KELOWNA - Gusty winds are the latest threat that could add to flooding woes in Central Okanagan.

Winds of up to 25 kilometres per hour are forecast this afternoon and evening, May 30, and the gusty winds may continue into tomorrow, according to City of Kelowna spokesperson Tom Wilson.

Winds have the potential to whip up waves or cause a surge into already inundated areas beside Okanagan Lake.

Wilson says crews are working to improve flood protection at the south end of the William Bennett Bridge connecting Kelowna and West Kelowna.

Okanagan Lake was two centimetres higher at 7 a.m. today, May 30, than it was yesterday, and 10 centimetres above historic flood levels recorded in 1948.

Sandbagging continues throughout the region and the Regional District says flooding of area lakes and streams will persist for some time, but it has also lifted an evacuation order for two properties on Marchbank Road on the west side of Okanagan Lake just north of Fintry.

Meanwhile, rising water on Okanagan Lake has forced the Regional District to close its last two boat launches.

The launches and docks at Okanagan Centre Safe Harbour Regional Park in Lake Country and at Fintry Community Park at the end of Fintry Delta Road are now closed, Bruce Smith with the Regional District says in a media release. The boat launch in Killiney Beach Community Park remains closed.

Smith says they've also decided to close a section of Glen Canyon Regional Park, Hardy Falls Regional Park and Mill Creek Regional Park due to flooding.

The boat launch and dock at Okanagan Centre Safe Harbour Regional Park in Lake Country is closed due to rising water on Okanagan Lake.
The boat launch and dock at Okanagan Centre Safe Harbour Regional Park in Lake Country is closed due to rising water on Okanagan Lake.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED

— With files from The Canadian Press


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