Four weeks displaced, aid running dry, B.C. wildfire evacuee says frustrations mounting

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Dennis Burns is tired of living in a hotel room. His property is among the 1,316 still under an evacuation order as a result of the White Rock Lake wildfire in the Central Okanagan, which covers 813 km2 of land, and continues to burn out of control.

Burns says he’s spent four weeks living in a hotel with his girlfriend and cat, just waiting for some indication of when he can access his property.

“We don’t really have too much information to go off of,” he said. “Nobody actually tells us anything — what to expect or actual conditions of our property or anything like that.”

He tells us he was recently informed by emergency support services that his assistance will run out on Friday, and his home insurance will have to cover any additional costs.

“When I got my home insurance, I don’t remember discussing anything with them about paying for a hotel room due to a fire that I didn’t fight, nor did I create,” he said.

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B.C.’s current wildfire season, one of the worst in recent memory, is showing signs of winding down following a stretch of cooler, wetter weather. Province-wide, the number of properties still under evacuation orders is less than half of what it was last week.

But fire crews say the situation is still volatile.

“Both our neighbours had fires yesterday in the Bear Creek area and Okanagan Indian Band,” North Westside Fire Chief Alex Van Bruksvoort said in a Wednesday statement. “I ask for your patience as we in here the North Westside still have an out of control fire above our community.”

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At least 78 properties have been damaged or destroyed as a result of the White Rock Lake wildfire, which remains one of the largest in the province.

But for Burns, the frustration, anger, and disappointment with the whole situation has him considering going home before he’s given the all-clear to do so.

“They are working actively to put in some fire breaks, and I know that all takes time, but that’s still quite a few kilometres away from where my residence is,” he said.

“I would like to go home, and if I have to go home at my risk, I would prefer that rather than continuing to live in a hotel room eating food in restaurants every night that I don’t get to choose. And some of them really aren’t the very best.”

Number of wildfires in B.C. falls to below 250; cooler temperatures in forecast

Emergency Management BC the number of active wildfires in B.C. is about 240, 22 of which are considered of note, meaning they are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety.

It says more than 3,400 firefighters from B.C. and more than 400 from out-of-province are helping fight the fires.

The BC Wildfire Service says some of the major blazes — such as White Rock Lake, Tremont Creek and Lytton Creek — are still classified as out of control.

The province has about 45 evacuation orders and 90 alerts in place, which means people should be ready to leave at short notice.

Environment Canada is forecasting cooler temperatures with cloudy conditions or light rain. It’s expected to stay below 20°C across most of the province.

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