On Aug. 15, 2023, a wildfire erupted about 10 kilometres north of West Kelowna.
The blaze grew quickly, prompting a local state of emergency in the city a day later, followed by provincial and federal orders.
On Aug. 18, “structural losses” in the fire were confirmed. To date, the City of West Kelowna says the McDougall Creek wildfire was the largest in the community’s history.
Over 10,000 residents in West Kelowna were forced to leave their homes, in addition to the countless people displaced by evacuation orders in the Westbank First Nation.
Almost 200 homes were damaged in that wildfire alone, with approximately 100 homes being destroyed completely. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the McDougall Creek wildfire caused over $480 million in insured damages alone.
While Thursday marks one year since the fire was reported, West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom says its effects are still being felt today.
He says the city is still processing demolition and rebuild permits but admits that takes time.
“It’s a tough year, there’s a lot of emotion involved in losing one’s home and their property. So some residents are moving forward, some are taking their time, reconsidering designs of their homes,” Milsom told 1130 NewsRadio.
He notes the shortage of labour within the construction industry across B.C. is also adding to challenges for some people.
“It’s not easy going and as a result it’s taking time,” the mayor said.
Within West Kelowna, Milsom says nearly 70 homes were lost to flames. The majority of those losses were due to embers, he says, which also caused the fire to jump Okanagan Lake and spread on the other side.
“Over and above those individuals who lost their homes, our community is far more aware of the risks associated with wildfire,” he explained. “The risk of these large fires is embers that travel a long way. So our community is much more aware and much more, I guess, mindful of the benefits of protecting their own properties and to fire smart principles.”
Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas says his city is facing similar challenges in the aftermath of the fire.
He says of the dozens of people who lost their homes, many are still navigating insurance claims and other procedures.
“Some of them are having difficulty in the process of that insurance claim, and the other item that we’re aware of, secondly, from a standpoint of the issuing of building permits and the allowing of that issuing, is that some of those structures were substantially older and built at a time when building permits and designs and where you could build and what you could build on it and how close you could be to the water, was under a different set of legislation. And building codes have changed so when individuals now apply for a building permit and want to just rebuild on that same site with the same type of structure, it has to go through a little bit of a different proces,” explained Dyas.
From a tourism standpoint, he also worries that some people may have concerns about visiting his area because of what played out last summer.
In all, he estimates about 140 properties were lost to the McDougall Creek fire in his city.
The fire burned to over 13,500 hectares, and required hundreds of firefighters from across the province and country to support in response.
It wasn’t until Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, that the BC Wildfire Service announced the McDougall Creek fire was classified as “being held,” meaning it is “not likely to spread beyond predetermined boundaries under current conditions.”
On Oct. 10, 2023, the local state of emergency was rescinded by the City of West Kelowna.
Milsom says as the road to recovery continues, his city is working closely with the province. While this summer has so far not brought any major fires to his city, Milsom says his heart goes out to communities that are being devastated by flames.
“We’re doing our best to support them in any way we can,” he said.
In September, West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund spoke at a United Nations General Assembly climate event in New York, detailing a 36-hour harrowing wildfire fight “that felt like 100 years.”
He called on member states to take urgent action to address the climate crisis.
“Four weeks ago, my community was devastated,” Brolund said at the time.
He presented accounts he had gotten from firefighters battling the flames, saying one described the situation to him as “fighting 100 years of fire, all in one night.”
“Like most firefighters, I was born there, I grew up there, and I put on the uniform every single day to serve my community. For me, it’s been 27 years,” Brolund said of West Kelowna.
“I desperately hoped that everyone had followed the orders to evacuate but I knew that was unlikely. Some people made it to the lake, their only option to survive in the water. They were rescued by a boat. A burn victim walked into the fire hall. Not all doors were knocked on, the fire came too fast.”
Like Brolund, Milsom is urging people not to ignore the impacts of climate change.
“With climate change occurring and the hotter summers, we have to continue to be vigilant. I think we’re faced with the risk of wildfires for many years to come and it’s important that we be prepared,” the West Kelowna mayor said.
“It’s hard to say what’s ahead of us with regards to the impacts of climate change.”
-With files from Michael Williams and Charlie Carey