A man sits in the parking lot outside an evacuation centre for those forced from their homes due to wildfires, in Kelowna, B.C., Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
August 22, 2023 - 5:31 PM
BC's minister of emergency management said an order restricting travel to many communities in the Southern Interior due to wildfires will be lifted at midnight.
Ma says non-essential travel to West Kelowna continues to be prohibited and people are being urged to stay away from the Lake Country and Shuswap areas.
"The emergency order we put in place on Saturday has had the effect we required and thousands of hotel rooms were made available for people forced from their homes, as well as the many firefighters and emergency crews who are protecting us during the worst wildfire season in our history," Bowinn Ma said in a statement issued late this afternoon, Aug. 22. "Working with local governments and First Nations, we will continue to place people in the accommodations that are now available.
"Because of this, we are lifting travel restrictions for the purpose of staying in temporary accommodation for most of the southern Interior, with the exception of West Kelowna. The order will be lifted for Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton and Vernon starting tomorrow, Aug. 23."
Wildfires in the Central Okanagan have destroyed approximately 200 homes and thousands were evacuated.
Final numbers have yet to be released, but the number of homes destroyed over the past few days could be in the range of 200. Fewer than 70 homes were lost in West Kelowna and fewer than 20 on Westbank First Nation lands.
Hardest hit by the McDougall Creek Wildfire were the Traders Cove and Lake Okanagan Resort areas with fewer than 100 homes lost. Three homes were destroyed by the Walrod Lake Wildfire in Kelowna and another three by the Clarke Creek Wildfire in Lake Country.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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