More allowed back home in the Okanagan as rain aids firefighting efforts
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All remaining evacuation orders in the City of Kelowna and more in West Kelowna and Lake Country were lifted Thursday, allowing some residents to begin returning home.
The province ended travel restrictions to West Kelowna at midnight Thursday.
Weather has been favourable to firefighting efforts, but temperatures are expected to rise toward the weekend and the area around Lytton — where two wildfires have triggered evacuation orders — remains dry.
Officials say there is no timeline in place yet for when 11,000 people in the Shuswap area can return home following the devastating Bush Creek East wildfire.
181 properties have been confirmed destroyed or damaged in the Kelowna area, and evacuees can check if theirs is safe through an online portal.
Learn more about how to find the full list of wildfires, highway closures and evacuation orders and alerts.
Rainy conditions have helped curb fires and allow residents and visitors to return to some evacuated areas in B.C.'s Central Okanagan, but dry weather is expected to increase fire activity again throughout the area and North Shuswap.
Late Thursday, the provincial government lifted travel restrictions in West Kelowna that prevented travellers from booking hotels or coming to the community.
Local governments and First Nations were able to find the hotel space they needed for those evacuated by the 123-square-kilometre McDougall Creek wildfire that is burning out of control nearby, according to B.C.'s emergency management minister Bowinn Ma.
"Given the evolving situation and the accommodation we've secured, we are now lifting the travel restriction to West Kelowna," Ma said in a Thursday news release.
Some flights also began to arrive and depart from Kelowna International Airport once again, after the airport closed its airspace to commercial aircraft on Aug. 18. The airport is expected to fully re-open over the weekend.
Roadblocks that secured evacuation zones in Kelowna began to come down on Aug. 24, 2023, as rain helped keep fires at bay through the week. (Tom Popyk/CBC News)
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Brad Litke with the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) also said weather has been favourable to firefighting efforts, but temperatures are expected to rise toward the weekend, and crews are expecting to see a rise in fire activity in the Grouse Complex wildfires, particularly the McDougall Creek wildfire.
Litke said crews are working on a planned ignition by the Shannon Lake Golf Course in West Kelowna to "address the pockets of unburned fuel on the steep slopes that could challenge containment ... when fire behaviour conditions are expected to increase in the coming days."
An ignition operation might also take place above the Smith Creek drainage, Litke said.
Smoke rises near West Kelowna's Shannon Lake neighbourhood, on Aug. 24, 2023, after the B.C. Wildfire Service lights planned ignitions to burn off fuel ahead of forecasted wind gusts and hot temperatures. (Tom Popyk/CBC)
SEE ALSO: B.C. officials urge patience as some wildfire evacuees start returning home
Homecomings begin
Fire officials say more people are able to return home soon in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country as several evacuation orders have been downgraded to alerts since Wednesday.
All remaining evacuation orders in the City of Kelowna were lifted on Thursday.
Litke said Thursday that both the Clifton/McKinley fire in Kelowna and the Clark Creek wildfire in Lake Country to the north are now classified as being held, which means they are not likely to spread beyond predetermined boundaries under current conditions.
Whiting urged residents to go to the Central Okanagan Emergency Operation online portal, where it will be announced when neighbourhoods will be safe to return to.
Some evacuation zones began to open in the City of Kelowna on Aug. 23, 2023, after rain earlier in the week helped suppress fires in the area. But some roadblocks remained up the next day, though residents said gratitude overshadowed any confusion. (Tom Popyk/CBC News)
READ MORE: Through doorbell cameras, West Kelowna residents witnessed their homes burn
At least 181 properties have been damaged or destroyed by the Grouse complex of fires in the Kelowna area, with more assessments underway.
More than 25,000 are still out of their homes across B.C. as of Thursday, down from 30,000 last weekend.
Tension, uncertainty in Shuswap
An increase in fire activity is also expected in the Shuswap region, where more than 11,000 people remain on evacuation order because of the Bush Creek East fire.
The 410-square-kilometre fire is out of control and considered the province's top priority, according to BCWS fire information officer Forrest Tower.
There is currently no timeline for when evacuees may be able to return to their homes, nor any estimate of how many properties have been destroyed by the blaze.
The uncertainty has led to frustration among some community members, several of whom attempted to bypass an RCMP blockade on the Trans-Canada Highway near Sorrento, B.C., on Thursday.
BCWS temporarily withdrew crews that afternoon and RCMP added more officers as a result.
Local emergency officials stressed that evacuation orders are in place due to dangerous conditions, and that it takes time to ensure areas are safe once the fire has receded.
Anyone placed under an evacuation order should leave the area immediately.
Evacuation centres have been set up throughout the province to assist anyone evacuating from a community under threat from a wildfire.
To find the centre closest to you, visit the EmergencyInfoBC website.
Evacuees are encouraged to register with Emergency Support Services online, whether or not they access services at an evacuation centre.
WATCH NOW: Animals large and small find shelter during B.C. wildfires
Thumbnail courtesy of Justine Boulin via CBC.
This article was originally written for CBC News.
