Four Regional Parks Open Again (September  17 - 12:15 pm)          
The “Closed Due To Extreme Fire Hazard” signs have come down at two more Regional Parks.  After checking trails and public areas for safety hazards, Parks crews have given the green light to re-open Mill Creek Regional Park and the Woodhaven Nature Conservancy.  Yesterday afternoon, Mission Creek and Kalamoir Regional Parks were deemed safe for public access.

More favorable weather conditions have resulted in the opening of four of the Regional Parks that were closed over the summer because of the extreme fire danger.  In all, ten Regional Parks were completely closed and two others were partially closed.

Parks staff hopes to complete their hazard risk inspections of the other six closed parks by late today and expect that the “Closed Due To Extreme Fire Hazard” signs will be taken down.

Once a park is open again, people are asked to use extreme caution and should stay on trails.  Please don’t smoke in natural areas and if you do smoke, please ensure all smoking materials have been completely extinguished and safely discarded. 

Two Regional Parks will remain closed indefinitely because of damage sustained by the Okanagan Mountain Park fire.  Both Bertram Creek and Cedar Mountain contain many hazards and are considered unsafe.  Full Press Release.

Forest Fire Review to be Conducted (September  17 - 9:00 am)
An examination of all fire fighting efforts is performed every year by the B.C. Ministry of Forests.  They review decisions and observations related to each fire and try to assess what worked, didn't work, and could be done better.    Local Emergency Operations staff will also go through a similar debrief.    

Two Regional Parks Re-opened  (September  16 - 5:51 pm)          
CORD PRESS RELEASE - More favorable weather conditions have resulted in the opening of two Regional Parks that were closed over the summer because of the threat of fire.  The extreme fire hazard forced the complete closure of ten Regional Parks, and the partial closure of two others.

As of this afternoon, Mission Creek Regional Park is completely open as is Kalamoir Park on the Westside.

This morning, Parks staff started the task of going through each park, conducting a risk inspection.  As some of the parks have been closed for almost two months, staff are checking trails and removing any safety hazards like fallen branches and trees, hanging branches and pruning any overgrowth.  Once the area surrounding the trails is considered safe, the park will be open again for public use.   Information on the status of each park will be relayed via the local media and the Regional District website, www.regionaldistrict.com. 

The Regional Parks Department thanks residents of the Central Okanagan for their cooperation, patience and understanding over the past two months, while parks were closed.  When a park is open again, people are asked to use extreme caution and should stay on trails.  Please don’t smoke in natural areas and if you do smoke, please ensure all smoking materials have been completely extinguished and safely discarded. 

Two of the parks will remain closed indefinitely because of damage sustained by the Okanagan Mountain Park fire.  Both Bertram Creek and Cedar Mountain contain many hazards and are considered unsafe.  Full Press Release.

Fire Now 95% Contained (September  16 - 5:25 pm)

Ministry of Forestry - The Okanagan Mountain Park fire is estimated to be 25,600 hectares in size, and is now 95% contained. Resources include 400 fire fighters, 7 helicopters and 91 pieces of heavy equipment. The portion of the fire that is not contained is in steep rocky terrain and is difficult to access for ground resources.

Fire fighters are taking advantage of the cool, wet conditions to secure containment lines and mop up hot spots.  Considerable progress has been made over the past few days.  Resource requirements are being evaluated daily and downsizing will continue as the fire threat decreases.

Smoke may be visible deep within the fire perimeter over the coming weeks.  The public must remain assured that the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire will continue to be patrolled and monitored daily and fire fighters will aggressively mop up hot spots as they are detected.

 The Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park and the Myra-Bellevue Protected Area remain closed to the public until further notice.  The public is also reminded to stay clear of active fire fighting operations and avoid travelling any of the fire access roads being used by emergency personnel.  Full Press Release.

Fire News Highlights (September  16 - 8:13 am)

• It was one month ago today that lightning started the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire.

• The armed Forces are going home today as cooler temperatures and rain have the fire now 90% contained.

• Local loggers are now permitted to go back into the forests to resume their operations.

• 11 senior Forestry personnel  left Kelowna yesterday.

• The City's fire relief fund has raised $100,000.  $150,00 has been raised by t-shirt sales. The $225,000 Yellow Ribbon Campaign by local media will donate its money to the Central Okanagan Foundation.

• The insurance industry says it has paid out $200 million so far to BC forest fire victims. 

• Four City Parks now reopen to the public: Knox Mountain, Dilworth Mountain, Mission Ridge Park and Quail Ridge Park.  Public are asked to stay on the trails and not smoke.  Bertram Creek park will not likely open till spring to to fire damage to structures and trees.

From The Ministry of Forests Incident Commander (September  15 - 8:34 am)

September 14, 2003

An open letter to the people of Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley:

On behalf of the British Columbia Ministry of Forests and all who have worked on the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the people of Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley for your outstanding cooperation and generous support during the recent forest fire situation.

The overwhelming support during this time is not only very much appreciated, but has been tremendously uplifting during a very stressful and difficult time.  The endless donations, extreme patience, kind words of encouragement and all of the personal message signs posted throughout the area are truly motivating.  For this we are extremely grateful.

The resiliency of the Okanagan communities is reflected by all of the people that have gone out of their way to ensure that everyone remains safe, the needs of the community are met and the day to day fire operations continued uninterrupted.  You should be proud of your accomplishments, particularly your strong commitment to the community at large.

Yours truly,

Brian Kempf
Incident Commander
Okanagan Mountain Park Fire

Click here for the full letter in its original form.

Provincewide State of Emergency Lifted (September  15 - 8:10 am)
Premier Gordon Campbell lifted a province wide state of emergency on Sunday due to  rain The state of emergency had been in place since Aug. 2. The province will now complete a damage assessment.

A millimetre of rain fell on Sunday helping fire crews in the Myra and Bellevue canyons. The rainfall makes flare-ups unlikely, soaking down the forest fuels.

Weekend Fire Update (September  14 - 9:40 am)
As of Saturday, the Okanagan Mountain Park fire is considered to be 90% contained. The fire is described as smoldering and not very active.  The rain overnight and today should continue to help. 575 forest fighters and 10 Helicopters remain fighting the blaze.  The only major Evacuation Alert left in the province is near the Sun Peaks resort near Kamloops.

The Okanagan Fire Recovery Center (520 Bernard Avenue  (next to the old Royal Bank building) has new hours effective Monday:
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday

Fire Remains Stable Despite Evening Winds  (September  12 - 6:53 am)
The fire remained stable over night despite wind gusts last night.  At 9 pm gusts up to 50 km/h with scattered rain hit the Kelowna area.  The wind gusts actually allowed fire fighters to see where they should tackle some of the hot spots. Isolated power outages (Rowcliffe Ave and Gastton) and tree damage was reported but no growth to the fire.  Theer was a power outage at Reid's corner intersection and nearby businesses.

Fire crews have made good progress on the fire in recent days - encircling it with containment lines.  The fire has not challenged or breached containment lines.  The fire is still estimated to be 80% contained and 18,360 residents remain on Evacuation Alert.

No News Is Good News September  11 - 7:27 pm
We have had a number of emails in the past few days with similar themes.  We thought we would share these answers with everyone.  Here's a quick summary of our most frequently asked questions.

Why aren't you publishing more thermal maps of the fire?
We get the thermal maps directly from AWIS who is a contractor to the Ministry of Forestry. The maps are only produced when Forestry feels that there have been significant changes in the fire to justify their cost.  These maps are done by special plane flights - not by satellite.  The fact there have been no new maps for the last few days is a good sign that fire has not progressed.

How come there aren't as many updates on the fire on Castanet?
There has been very little too report in the past few days because of the cooler temperatures and rain.  The fire has not grown significantly.  Accordingly the Emergency Operations Center and the Ministry of Forests have less information to share than what they had previously.  We here at Castanet are still following the fire closely.  If there are any major developments rest assured - you can count on us to post them here.  But as fire activity trials off - so does our coverage.  This a another good sign!

I'm from out of town, where can I buy a fire t-shirt?
We have set-up a special web page to update you on the availability of t-shirts, hats, posters, CD's and other fundraising efforts associated with the fire.  Link.  There will be some t-shirts available at the Burnaby Costco this weekend (see t-shirt page for details).  And the KVR Passport Company will be offering Myra Canyon Trestle t-shirts for sale online.  Be aware that the volunteer fire fighters and RCMP are behind the selling of the most popular shirts.  They are understandably still focused on the task at hand with the fire.  If we become aware of shirt sells outside Kelowna, you can count on us posting them here!

Boil Water Advisories Lifted September 11 - 2:40 pm
As of September 11, 2003 the Water Boil Advisories for the Black Mountain Irrigation and South East Kelowna Irrigation Districts has been lifted.

Test results done by the water utilities and the Interior Health Authorities show the water meets public health requirements and is safe to drink.

BMID and SEKID regret any inconvenience to our customers and thank you for your patience during this water boil advisory.

Fire Clears Myra Canyon - Remaining Trestles Safe September 11 - 7:05 am
Mayor Gray - The fire has now cleared Myra Canyon - so it is unlikely that other Trestles will be destroyed.  The original plans for trestles still exist to aid in rebuilding.  Only four wooden trestles remain 1, 12, 16, 17.  The wood decks on the metal trestles 6 and 8 have been burned off. See maps for trestle placement. (Map 1 JPG 42K) (Map 2 GIF 87K)  See also our photo gallery for original trestle pictures and trestles as they stand now.  Click here to donate to the trestle restoration online. 

Recovery Trust Fund Donations Can Specify Trestle Redevelopment (September  10 - 4:48 pm)
The Kelowna and Area Okanagan Fire Recovery Society has recognized the community's will to re-build the twelve historic trestles of the Kettle Valley Railway, destroyed as the Okanagan Mountain Park fire swept through Myra Canyon. Donors may now specify that their contributions to the Kelowna and Area Fire Recovery Trust Fund should be directed toward trestle redevelopment.

Donations may be made online at kvr.acromedia.ca or via www.city.kelowna.bc.ca  Donations may also be sent to the City of Kelowna, 1435 Water Street, Kelowna B.C. V1Y 1J4. Cheques should be made payable to the "City of Kelowna Fire Recovery Fund" and should specify that the donation is for the "Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Fund".

The Federal Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the Central Okanagan Regional District, the City of Kelowna and the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society, as well as many national and local organizations, have acknowledged the need to rebuild. Once the fire in Myra Canyon is extinguished a site assessment will be conducted to determine the steps involved in reconstruction. The reconstruction effort will be a large one involving many levels of government, the private sector and the community. To kick start the project initial funding for the site assessment will be provided by the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada.

The Kettle Valley Railway is one of the most important heritage and recreational assets in the Central Okanagan. The pioneering spirit that built the world famous Myra Canyon trestles will once again be demonstrated through community goodwill and leadership.

General donations toward the Recovery Trust Fund are also gratefully accepted. The monies will be used to assist in rebuilding lives and the community. The Recovery Society is in the process of identifying needs and projects that may be eligible to receive funds. Donations can be made at any Scotiabank branch in Canada to account number 80150-00058-19, or through the internet or by mail, as above.  Press release.