‘We finally feel like we’re moving forward:’ Improvement with Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country wildfires

globalnews.ca:

Calmer, cooler conditions allowed crews to make gains on the front lines of fires burning in the Central Okanagan Saturday but the fight is far from over, officials warned.

As of Saturday night, the fire was mapped at 11,00 hectares, though, BC Wildfire Service official, Jerrad Schroeder, said visibility has been challenging and limited their ability to get an updated aerial track at this time.  Overnight, there were no further evacuations, or properties lost and gains on the front lines were made.

West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said things are looking better but there are hard days ahead.

“We’re now four days in and it feels like months. But things are looking better,” Brolund said.

“We are finally feeling like we’re moving forward, rather than moving backward and that’s a great feeling for all of us to have. In saying that, make no mistake, there will be difficult days ahead and we are continuing to prepare and address those not necessarily firefighting days, although there’s lots of hard work to do.”

Brolund said conditions have allowed the 500 firefighters working to get right out to the control lines that have been constructed by the wildfire service.

“They’ve let us get boots on the ground and go in and dig and put water where water needs to be,” he said.

“We haven’t been challenged with extraordinary fire behavior that necessitated extraordinary suppression. We’re dealing with things like we’re used to seeing. However, we are dealing with them on an epic scale and there are a million points of fire still out there, across our community.”

As that is dealt with, Brolund said he believes recovery is going to be the biggest challenge in the days ahead though assets have been made available.

“The public should