More ‘good progress’ made Sunday on Central Okanagan wildfires

For a second consecutive day, Mother Nature cooperated and allowed hundreds of firefighters battling Central Okanagan wildfires to achieve some important objectives.

Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said late Sunday night that fire crews made “good progress” on the front lines and continued their work overnight.

While they did that, Canada Task Force 1, a specialized and self-sufficient team of trained professionals, had boots on the ground assessing damage and counting the number of homes lost in the first 48 hours of the firestorm.

Officials will hold another press conference at 10 am to provide the latest update on the progress and efforts being made on the fires.

The three Central Okanagan fires, known as the Grouse Complex, are listed at 11,000 hectares (West Kelowna), 769 hectares (Kelowna) and Lake Country (360 hectares) as of Sunday morning.

While those are the latest estimates, the BC Wildfire Service will tell you that they’re not the most up to date as the thick smoke in the valley makes it difficult to map the blazes.

Air quality has improved ever so slightly since Sunday, but it’s still considered extremely hazardous throughout the Okanagan, Thompson and Shuswap regions today.

While there could be a small amount of relief on that front today, the smoke is expected to continue to linger as the three fires burn and people are encouraged to avoid it as much as possible.

The forecast calls for continued cooler temperatures and even a small chance of rain this afternoon, but it’s Tuesday when more notable and much-needed precipitation is expected.

Evacuation orders remain in place for more than 10,000 properties, while a similar amount are under alert to begin the week.

The first orders were removed on Sunday for the Quail Ridge and UBC Okanagan areas in Kelowna, which remain on alert.