Approximately 70 Westside Road properties located in the Ewings Landing and Killiney areas have been significantly damaged due to the White Rock Lake wildfire, according to a Monday evening (Aug. 16) update from Central Okanagan Emergency Operations.
Earlier that day, crews estimated that between 50 and 60 buildings in the Ewings Landing and Killiney areas were damaged Sunday evening. Crews are now working to contact owners whose properties were impacted.
“It is taking us longer than anticipated to confirm properties and owner contact information for the impacted area. Given the gravity of this news for homeowners we are being diligent in confirming these identities,” said Brian Reardon, the director of Central Okanagan Emergency Operations.
“We sympathize with and understand that residents are anxiously awaiting for updates about the status of their property.”
READ MORE: Westside Road community mourns the loss of shop in White Rock Lake wildfire
Property owners will be contacted directly, while no further information about damages to properties will be provided at this time.
Similarly, Okanagan Indian Band (OIB) is compiling a list of all the properties within the affected area on OIB land to determine which structures have been lost. Once a list of affected structures is completed, OIB said families will be contacted privately.
“Confirmation by staff on the ground is still ongoing and we will be creating a full list of affected structures,” said OIB on Monday.
BC Wildfire Service estimates that the White Rock Lake wildfire is measured at 64,720 hectares in size and continues to burn out of control.
Evacuation orders and alerts remain unchanged, and residents will not be able to access their property and the area until it is safe to do so.
READ MORE: Stay out of evacuation zones: RCMP
@aaron_hemens
aaron.hemens@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.