A burned out house on Nighthawk Road in Okanagan Centre.
(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)
July 19, 2017 - 8:58 AM
LAKE COUNTRY – The Okanagan Centre wildfire in Lake Country is now 100 per cent contained and residents are heading home.
Evacuation orders for the remaining homes on Nighthawk Road, Long Road and Tyndall Road were lifted at 8 a.m. this morning, July 19, according to a media release from the Emergency Operations Centre.
Residents returning home will stay on evacuation alert and should be prepared to leave on short notice.
“Ground crews will continue extinguishing spot fires and conducting danger assessments and falling trees in fire impacted areas throughout the day Wednesday,” EOC officials say. “The public must stay out of fire affected areas for their own safety and obey all warning and hazards signs. Parks, trails and public and private lands in the area of the fire remain closed, including Jack Seaton Park and trails.”
Residents are asked to go to this website for information on what to do when returning home after a forest fire and to contact Fortis at 1-888-224-2710 to have natural gas service restored to their houses.
READ MORE: How fire retardant works
Nighthawk, Long and Tyndall Roads are open to local traffic only, officials say. Flaggers will remain in place to direct permitted traffic into the area.
The District of Lake Country has arranged a town hall meeting for residents who are returning home to the fire impacted area at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 20 at the Winfield Memorial Hall.
Representatives from the B.C. Wildfire and a company that supplies fire retardant will be on hand to provide information and answer questions regarding cleanup and recovery.
“Thanks goes out to ground crews from the BC Wildfire Service and structure crews from Lake Country and the Armstrong, BX/Swan Lake, Ellison, Joe Rich, Kelowna, North Westside, Peachland and West Kelowna Fire Departments,” officials say. “Emergency Support Services volunteers and many kind citizens are also thanked for their efforts to assist and accommodate evacuees and for their offers of help.”
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News from © iNFOnews, 2017