Former Saskatchewan resident describes wildfire situation in Kelowna

People in Kelowna and across the country are watching with nerves as crews try to get control of wildfires that are closing in on the B.C. city.

Kelowna is under a state of emergency while evacuation orders have been given for some parts of the surrounding Okanagan.

Ted Farr is a news anchor in Kelowna, but he used to be in Saskatchewan and was the program director for 980 CJME and 650 CKOM.

He said the fire had been up high, north of West Kelowna.

“And then all of a sudden the wind hit, and it’s so tinder dry. I mean, most of British Columbia is at drought level five, and that’s the most severe drought level you can possibly get,” Farr told Gormley on Friday.

Farr said the fire exploded in size and it moved incredibly fast, even getting dangerous for some firefighters.

“There were reports yesterday of firefighters almost being trapped because they were unable to get a position and the fire would all of a sudden surround them and they would have to escape,” Farr explained.

Overnight, the McDougall Creek fire grew to six times its previous size, and officials have quadrupled the number of properties under an evacuation order to 2,400.

The Central Okanagan Emergency Operation Centre confirmed overnight that some structures had been destroyed.

On Friday morning, Farr said he had been sitting on his deck Thursday night because the air had cleared in front of him.

“We watched the planes with the fire retardant — both a big old prop plane, four-engine plane, and a jet — making a loop. So they would come in, they would drop their load, they would fly back to Penticton because that’s where they’re based, that’s where they refuel, that’s where they load up the fire retardant, and then they would come back,” said Farr.

Embers from the fire on the far side of Okanagan Lake jumped the lake Thursday night, according to Farr. He said there are now three spot fires on the Kelowna side of the lake and homes in that area are starting to be evacuated.

For those who have to leave their homes, Farr said the hotels are already full with tourists so the arena in West Kelowna has been opened and there’s been talk of opening up schools.

For himself, Farr said he has a plan that, if required, would get him to a friend’s house in Kelowna if the fire gets even worse.

In an emailed statement Friday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said it has yet to send any staff to B.C. to help fight the fires, but it has sent equipment to that province.

— With files from The Canadian Press