A BC Wildfire Incident Management team has taken control of firefighting operations in the Okanagan in an effort to strengthen the accuracy and timeliness of information being shared about the 14 wildfires currently burning in the area.
Incident Commander Glen Burgess responded to criticism over the distribution of personnel and resources.
"Our strategies are to protect life and property," says Burgess. "Our resources are being prioritized based on that, so some sections of some fires may not be getting a lot of resources because they're in the areas where the homes aren't."
As of Friday evening, approximately 200 fire personnel and 20 helicopters are working on fighting the wildfires, which began popping up earlier this week.
“As far I’m aware, we have not requested outside help,” says Burgess. “In fact, with some resources, when we deploy them to other agencies; we actually have the ability to recall them before their tour is up should we need them.”
Burgess says the fires haven't moved much since Thursday, and haven't gotten close to Kelowna either.
Some of the major wildfires in the area include:
While several neighbourhoods remain under evacuation alerts and orders, nearly 70 Glenrosa residences and 15 residences on Lakeshore Road have had their evacuation alerts rescinded.
Burgess says at this time, no properties have been reported burned down yet.
For more information on current wildfires, as well as evacuation alerts and orders, go to cordemergency.ca.