Two wildfires in Kelowna area in Canada's western British Columbia province are close to full containment Wednesday,while a third one continuing to grow, according to fire officials.
The two massive wildfires in Glenrosa and Rose Valley are 80 percent under control and are expected to be fully contained later Wednesday, but it will be some time before they are extinguished, said fire officials.
Jason Johnson, the Emergency Operations Center Director said: "It has been a difficult few days and the emergency isn't over, but the news that the Glenrosa and Rose Valley fires are close to full containment is most welcome."
Local media reported that firefighters fighting the Glenrosa fire, estimated at 300 hectares, were working to create a fuel-free barrier on the southern flank of the fire. Fire crews at the Rose Valley were working with heavy equipment and supported by helicopter bucketing to contain the fire, estimated at 100 hectares.
With the firefighters gaining upper hand over the fires, nearly half of 11,000 evacuees who were forced to flee West Kelowna because of forest fires were allowed to return home Tuesday, and fire officials said the remaining are expected to return late Wednesday afternoon. But they will remain under an evacuation alert, which means they have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.
Many returning residents felt relieved when they saw their houses standing there but some were surprised to find their evacuated homes had been visited by thieves who took advantage of the situation.
Resident Barbare Kreibom told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Wednesday that she was "shocked" to find her son's gaming system and skateboard stolen. Although she felt "violated," she said some people lost much more to looters.
Cpl. Dan Moskaluk of Royal Canadian Mounted Police said police had received at least 10 confirmed reports of break-and-enters from the evacuated homes in Glenrosa, and appealed to returning residents to keep an eye out for clues about criminal activity around their property.
As of Wednesday noon, the wildfire burning at Terrace Mountain has swelled in size to about 2,000 hectares from about 1,800 hectares one day earlier. The B.C. Forest Service is aggressively battling this fire with 175 firefighters on the ground, with seven helicopters and heavy machinery continuing to build guards around the fire's perimeter. This fire is estimated to be 30 percent contained.
Though there is no structure immediately threatened by this fire, authorities issued a new evacuation order affecting 10 properties and 13 people north of Kelowna, local media reported. Besides, an evacuation alert has been placed for approximately 2,200 residents and property owners living in several communities.
The three fires blazing across West Kelowna started Saturday afternoon and were spreading rapidly within hours. They are believed to be caused by people and an investigation team is conducting an examination into the fires' causes.
Of the total 2,024 fires that happened in British Columbia in 2008, 41.8 percent were human-caused, according to figures from the B.C. Forest Service.
(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2009)
