The area marked in red, including the Desert Pines neighborhood and the upper Trepanier Bench area, is under evacuation order. (Emergency Operations Centre)
Contributed
An aerial assessment this morning of the Trepanier forest fire Evacuation Area has revealed it is not safe enough for any more people to return to their homes.
It’s anticipated that the earliest any change might be made to the Evacuation Order for residents within the District of Peachland is later this afternoon.
The air scan for hotspots has found at least 65 areas of concern in backyards and close to homes throughout the Evacuation Area, including the Coldham Road area in Peachland. It’s simply not safe enough yet for people to go home.
Now that these hot spots have been identified, fire crews and equipment will be taking steps today to make them safe so that residents will be able to return home as soon as possible.
Hazard assessment and identification work is continuing throughout the Evacuation Area.
As a result of the aerial assessment, there will not be any change today in the Evacuation status for approximately 17 property owners in the Regional District of Central Okanagan Central Okanagan West Electoral Area. This includes Star Place and addresses along upper Trepanier Road.
As the Evacuation Order remains in effect for approximately 258 people, all residents that are still on Evacuation within Peachland and the Regional District must report in person to the Emergency Support Services reception centre at the Westbank Lions Community Centre, 2466 Main Street in West Kelowna so that they can reaffirm their registration in order to continue to receive food, accommodation and clothing assistance.
A detailed map showing the updated status of the Evacuation Order and Evacuation Alert areas is available at www.cordemergency.ca.
The District of Peachland has opened a Recovery Office to support Peachland residents who have been affected by the Trepanier Forest Fire. The office is located in the Peachland Municipal office, 5806 Beach Avenue and is open weekdays 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Residents with questions or need assistance should email firerecovery@peachland.ca or call 250-767-6055, Extension 120.
BC Hydro advises there may be intermittent electrical outages today as its crews continue to make repairs to the electrical system in the aftermath of the forest fire.
As crews continue to work within the fire Evacuation Area, it remains closed to all people and for safety reasons all people should stay out of this area. RCMP continue staffing checkpoints and patrols through the closed area.
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