"It doesn't kind of scare me, it really scares me."
Those words from former Kelowna fire chief Gerry Zimmerman with the fire danger rating as 'severe' across the entire Okanagan.
Zimmerman was the face of the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire that roared through the southern part of his city, destroying more than 230 homes.
Now retired, Zimmerman says the dry conditions with no rain in sight, may be Kelowna's new normal.
"It sure looks that way. It seems to be happening here far too often. Prior to 2003, we had some big ones, but now we seem to have them every couple of years we have something big going on. It kind of looks that way to me".
Zimmermann says we are better prepared should a similar interface fire happen again.
The Okanagan Mountain Park Fire was caused by a lightning strike during one of the driest summers on record.