Firefighters from Comox, Saanich and Victoria were in West Kelowna Friday to help fight a wildfire that has destroyed homes and has more than 2,000 properties under an evacuation order.
A crew of four Saanich firefighters caught the 7 a.m. ferry Friday on their way to West Kelowna, where they are part of a team that acts as a last line of defence to protect properties from the McDougall Creek wildfire.
“If it’s getting close to the structure, we’ll put it out before it gets to the structure,” said Saanich assistant deputy chief Craig Ford.
Homes continued to burn in West Kelowna on Friday after a significant number of properties were destroyed overnight by a wildfire the city’s fire chief described as “exponentially worse” than expected. The B.C. Wildfire Service said the fire had grown to 68 square kilometres, up from 11 square kilometres Thursday afternoon.
Images of the wildfire show flames covering a hillside just above a row of homes and entire structures engulfed.
Three Comox firefighters left late Thursday to join the fight against the wildfire. Lt. Brent Craven of Comox Fire Rescue said it wasn’t yet known what role they would play, but he suspects they will patrol neighbourhoods to look for and extinguish fires.
Crews from Comox have been in Kamloops since early July, where they’re part of a team protecting structures by placing sprinklers around the perimeter on the ground or around roofs to prevent flying sparks from igniting into flames, Craven said. While it’s common for members to deploy to other parts of the province during summer to help with wildfires, Craven said this summer has been particularly busy.
The Victoria Fire Department has sent two members to West Kelowna to support firefighting operations and to help with emergency services for evacuees, said city spokesperson Colleen Mycroft.
The Saanich Fire Department has committed its crews to stay in West Kelowna for 14 days, and will rotate new firefighters in as long as needed, Ford said.
He expects Saanich’s support will continue to be needed in the province into the early fall, whether that’s in West Kelowna or elsewhere.
“Hopefully I’m wrong. And hopefully we get some nice weather that comes through, but the long range forecast doesn’t look great for us,” Ford said.
He said the blaze is a reminder for people in Greater Victoria to be vigilant, as the fire risk is high. The major concern in the region is the potential for a structure or vehicle fire to spread and create a wildfire, as lightning strikes are less common than in the Interior or in northern B.C.
“If we get one small fire on the south coast here, it’s going to turn into a rather large fire rather quickly,” he said.
Across the province, about 4,500 people were under evacuation orders and 23,500 under evacuation alerts Friday. Of the 374 active fires in the province, 159 were out of control and more than a dozen were considered either highly visible or a threat to a community.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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