The fire has actually now blistered 68 square kilometres of land, up from 11 square kilometres on Thursday.
Meanwhile, evacuation orders have actually been broadened to consist of the Clifton and McKinley locations north of Kelowna’s downtown.
Thousands of homes are under evacuation orders as the City of West Kelowna and the Westbank First Nation have actually stated regional states of emergency situation.
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8:19 a.m.
British Columbia’s travel details system says Highway 1 is closed for a stretch of about 15 kilometres in between the neighborhoods of Hope and Lytton, both of which are under hazard from wildfires.
DriveBC says the closure will stay in location till later on today.
It says Highway 97 is closed in both instructions for a stretch of about 63 kilometres in between the neighborhoods of Coldstream and Peachland.
DriveBC says Highway 97 is likewise closed for about 14 kilometres in between Kelowna and West Kelowna due to the fact that of wildfires.
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7:45 a.m.
The Central Okanagan Emergency Operation Centre is asking evacuees to sign up through B.C.’s provincial website: ess.gov.bc.ca
The centre is likewise motivating evacuees to stick with friends and family as many shelters are complete.
It is asking homeowners to utilize an interactive map on the website to learn whether their houses are under an evacuation order or alert.
The centre says the McDougall Creek wildfire stays extremely active and unforeseeable.
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7:11 a.m.
About 11 square kilometres of land has actually been blistered in the northwest location of West Kelowna.
The BC Wildfire Service says the McDougall Creek wildfire is not reacting to suppression efforts.
Currently, more than 2,400 homes are under evacuation orders and more than 4,800 homes are under alert as firemens fight the McDougall Creek blaze.
More than 1,800 wildfires have actually burned about 16,100 square kilometres of land in B.C. because April 1, and there are more than 360 active fires burning throughout the province.
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6:42 a.m.
Environment Canada says an unique weather condition declaration is in impact for the Okanagan Valley and parts of Interior B.C.
It says strong, gusty winds moving from the southwest to northwest bring with them a danger of thunderstorms and dry lightning in the Okanagan Valley.
It says there is a possibility for getting worse wildfire conditions, brand-new fire begins, threat of breaking tree branches, and tough boating conditions.
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6:21 a.m.
The City of Kelowna, in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, has actually stated a state of emergency situation.
Firefighters are reacting to identify fires stumbling upon Okanagan Lake from the McDougall Creek wildfire.
Evacuation orders have actually been broadened as 143 homes in the Bartley Road location and 620 homes in the Rose Valley location of West Kelowna are asked to leave due to the McDougall Creek wildfire.
Firefighters have actually reported loss of structures in West Kelowna, and state a complete evaluation of the locations impacted will be carried out in the early morning.
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This report by The Canadian Press was very first released Aug. 18, 2023.
The Canadian Press
