West Kelowna’s Wilson’s Landing wildfire restriction order extended

Residents of wildfire-ravaged Wilson’s Landing in West Kelowna have had their area-wide restriction order extended to Sept. 15.

The Central Okanagan Regional District says residents were temporarily permitted entry to the evacuation zone with a four-hour window to access their homes Friday to retrieve important items, but no further access is expected this weekend.

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Evacuation alerts have been lifted near Lytton and Lillooet in the Fraser Canyon, as areas threatened by the Kookipi Creek and Stein Mountain wildfires were given the all-clear.

However, the province remains in a state of emergency, with the BC Wildfire Service reporting more than 400 active wildfires across the province, 182 of which are burning out of control, with seven new fires reported in the past 24 hours.

The McDougall Creek wildfire, which swept down on West Kelowna three weeks ago and destroyed about 190 properties, remains at around 13,700 hectares. This is expected to increase as the fire perimeter is scanned, the service says, as a result of planned ignition operations conducted earlier this week.

The service says the fire continues to be battled by almost 300 firefighters and support staff, who are focused on mopping up hot spots, performing controlled burns and aerial water bucketing.

Saturday and Sunday are expected to be warm across the province, the wildfire service says, which will increase wildfire behaviour “slightly.”

“Some incidents that have appeared dormant over the past week may exhibit smoke and flames, particularly in the Southern Interior and the southern portion of the Coastal Fire Centre,” the service posted on X Friday.

Warm temperatures will increase wildfire behaviour slightly over the weekend, and some incidents that have appeared dormant over the past week may exhibit smoke and flames, particularly in the Southern Interior and the southern portion of the Coastal Fire Centre. pic.twitter.com/MJI0nFIoHa

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) September 9, 2023

With files from The Canadian Press