Kelowna’s H2O centre popular with those trying to escape the wildfire smoke

The H2O Adventure and Fitness Centre is usually a fun outing, take the kids to the pool and maybe try out the surfing simulator, but now it’s a haven for locals and tourists alike trying to get out of the wildfire smoke.

The BC Southern Interior YMCA’s vice president of aquatics Robyn Moore said the facility typically sees an uptick in drop-in visitors when the air quality is bad but the current situation is setting new records.

Last week, the facility had around 350 to 400 transactions where individuals or families bought entry for the day, which Moore said is typical when it’s smoky, on Aug. 9 there were around 950.

“It’s locals but also tourists in the area who are looking to get away from the smoke,” Moore said. “We’ve seen quite a spike over the last four to five days.”

The YMCA’s vice president of marketing Tammie Watson said most facilities have seen a similar spike in drop-ins over the past few days.

H2O is a cooling centre in partnership with the City of Kelowna, but Watson said the centre hasn’t officially been activated as a cooling centre yet. She said it will depend on the wildfire situation over the coming days whether or not the facility gets activated.

“What that means is we remain on standby and on call to open our centres to the community especially for those who have been evacuated in order to assist residents getting out of the smoke in a safe space with their children. So because we are already at capacity, we’re just currently on hold with putting any of that together,” Watson said.

The city has several air conditioned public spaces that serve as free cooling centres when temperatures hit a certain threshold around 35 Celsius for a few consecutive days.

Even though the YMCA hasn’t been activated as a cooling centre for the city, there are programs for evacuees and people who can’t afford to pay to use the facilities.

“Financial circumstances or barriers should not be a reason to not come forward,” Watson said. “We encourage everyone if they’re wanting to get out of the smoke or perhaps have a little bit of reprieve. We are definitely here to support everyone as much as we possibly can.”

The YMCA isn’t the only safe haven for evacuees and folks trying to get out of the bad air. Orchard Park Shopping Centre and Planet Fitness are giving people a safe space, access to internet and showers along with RV parking for evacuees.

The Okanagan Science Centre is offering free admission for evacuees and the Okanagan Regional Libraries have air conditioning.

Watson said everyone is being affected by the wildfires and needs a place to go to get a break.

“Many of our staff and volunteers ourselves are being affected by the fires. We are here as a community support and and happy to help anyone wherever we possibly can, we are supporting Penticton and Summerland as well,” she said.