Smoke fills the sky near the Westside Road wildfire, July 21, 2015. Photographer: Adam Proskiw

UPDATE: Westside Road evacuations remain in effect; fire grows to 430 ha

WEST KELOWNA – Evacuation orders remain in effect for a wildfire burning on Westside Road between La Casa Resort and Lake Okanagan Resort.

This morning the emergency operations centre updated and clarified last night's evacuations ordered after heavy winds stoked the fire caused by lightning July 19. The fire grew from 30 hectares to roughly 175 ha overnight, according to B.C. Wildfire. By 2:45 p.m. the fire had grown to 430 ha and was zero per cent contained. As of Tuesday afternoon 19 firefighters and four airtankers were on site.

The order remains in place for roughly 70 homes along Westside Road from 3985 Westside Road north to La Casa Resort, but not including La Casa, along with residents of Denison Road, Shelter Cove Road, Central Okanagan Road and Deighton Road.

Residents on Terrace Way, Chalet Crescent and Condo Court are not under evacuation order. 

Evacuated residents are asked to check in at the Lions Hall in West Kelowna.

Westside Road is closed from Denison Road to La Casa and nearly 1,400 customers in the area have been without since about 5:30 a.m. because of the fire. B.C. Hydro does not provide an estimate on when power will be restored. 

The wind finally died down early this morning to just a slight breeze in the grass. Photographer: Marshall Jones

The wind finally died down early this morning to just a slight breeze in the grass. Photographer: Marshall Jones

The wind finally died down early this morning to just a slight breeze in the grass. Photographer: Marshall Jones

File Photo, Westside Road fire from Clifton Road in Kelowna. Photographer: Marshall Jones

The wind finally died down early this morning to just a slight breeze in the grass., If only that big dipper were really filled with water. Photographer: Marshall Jones

The wind finally died down early this morning to just a slight breeze in the grass., Westside Road fire from Clifton Road July 21. Photographer: Marshall Jones

The wind finally died down early this morning to just a slight breeze in the grass., Early morning smoke imposes on the landscape from Westbank First Nation. Photographer: Marshall Jones

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 7:04 a.m., July 21, 2015, to include the power outage.

— This story was updated at 8:25 a.m., July 21, 2015, to include an updated size of the fire.

— This story was updated at 2:51 p.m., July 21, 2015, with the new size of the fire.

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5 responses

  1. Bernie Wine

    Unbelievable,hopefully they can get it under control.

  2. Wayne Frisch

    You have reported power outages since 5:30 AM this morning – Killiney Beach properties on Hodges Road has been out going on TWO DAYS!- PLS HELP.

  3. Robert McArthur

    We have been without hydro since 11:15PM , 20th July. The Martin Mars would do the jobof five of the CL 215 water bombers. Politics seems to come into play here.

  4. Julie Nicholson

    Hope they get this under control soon, 2 days of rain would help.

  5. Avatar
    Jennifer Taylor

    This is really upsetting.I hope they can get on top of things today!

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Marshall Jones

News is best when it's local, relevant, timely and interesting. That's our focus every day.

We are on the ground in Penticton, Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops to bring you the stories that matter most.

Marshall may call West Kelowna home, but after 16 years in local news and 14 in the Okanagan, he knows better than to tell readers in other communities what is "news' to them. He relies on resident reporters to reflect their own community priorities and needs. As the newsroom leader, his job is making those reporters better, ensuring accuracy, fairness and meeting the highest standards of journalism.

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