Former Saultite watches as fast-burning B.C. wildfire rages on - SooToday

Josh Zorzi noticed the plumes of smoke in Kelowna, B.C. while driving into the city with a friend Tuesday night for a planned getaway.  

The former Sault Ste. Marie resident says the McDougall Creek wildfire, situated on the opposite side of Okanagan Lake in the West Kelowna area, escalated quickly —  leading to a state of emergency being declared in Kelowna and thousands more residents of West Kelowna being ordered to leave their homes as the wildfire caused hills surrounding their Okanagan community to erupt in flames. 

The wildfire has grown more than six times, destroying homes and putting more than 2,400 West Kelowna properties under evacuation order, up from about 800 Thursday afternoon. Another 4,800 West Kelowna properties are under an evacuation alert, with residents told to be ready to flee on short notice.

“The evacuation started happening quickly,” said Zorzi, speaking to SooToday from a Kelowna hotel Friday. “As the wind picked up, it just happened in two or three hours.

“From where we are on the Kelowna side, you could see the fire make it over the hill on the West Kelowna side — it’s right down to the shore on the other side. Basically, from Kelowna City Park you can watch the whole fire.”

A local state of emergency was already in place in West Kelowna due to the McDougall Creek fire that's threatening suburbs, schools and businesses in the city. 

The fire is now 68 square kilometres in size, according to the BC Wildfire Service, up from 11 square kilometres late Thursday afternoon.

Cliff Chapman, director of operations for the BC Wildfire Service, says the cold front that began sweeping the southern half of the province Thursday is bringing high, unpredictable winds and dry lightning, creating the potential for new fires and growth on those crews are trying to contain. 

The intensifying winds were still a factor Friday morning, says Zorzi, who now resides in Vernon, B.C.    

“It’s windy now, and that’s not good,” he said. 

Of the 374 active fires in the province, 159 of them remain out of control, and more than a dozen of those are either highly visible or a threat to a community.

- with files from The Canadian Press

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Former Saultite watches as fast-burning B.C. wildfire rages on - SooToday
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