The BC Wildfire Service has confirmed that, as of Monday, August 6th, all wildfires in the Central Okanagan are under control.
This includes the Goode’s Creek wildfire (last reported at 1,370 hectares), which was spreading south of Kelowna as recently as last week.
“We have staff working on it, just patrolling and checking for hot spots,” says fire information officer Ellie Dupont. “If there’s a hot spot under the ground, then eventually it may pop up again, so that’s the sort of thing that we’re looking for now.”
Over on the west side, the Mount Eneas Wildfire (last reported at just under 1,800 hectares) remains under control to the point where only 27 personnel are working on it. Down south near Summerland, the Mount Conkle wildfire sits at 118 hectares.
Additionally, the majority of the small wildfires that popped up last week due to a lightning storm have been cleared out by fire crews.
While the wildfire situation in the region appears to be steady at the moment, Dupont says we’re not out of the woods yet with fire season.
“We can forecast the weather, but we can’t predict it, so everyone needs to stay vigilant,” says Dupont.
After a hot week with a high of 39 degrees on Thursday, a cold front is expected to come over the Okanagan, bringing a chance of rain, strong winds, and lightning storms.