No timeline for end of all evacuation orders in West Kelowna, fire chief says

While evacuation orders continue to be rescinded across the Central Okanagan Regional District, West Kelowna's fire chief says there's no timeline for when everyone in the hard-hit city will be allowed to return to their properties.

"Many – hundreds – won't have a home to return to," Jason Brolund told CTV News Channel Saturday morning.

"It will be a long process to be able to start to get them on the ground into the most damaged neighbourhoods. What I can assure the public is that they will continue to see measured and incremental moves to rescind evacuation orders. Every single day, we're getting people home."

Brolund said roughly 900 families were able to return to their properties on Friday, and all of them found their homes still standing.

At a news conference with the Central Okanagan Regional District later in the morning, he elaborated on which neighbourhoods would have to wait the longest to see evacuation orders lifted.

Brolund specifically mentioned the portion of West Kelowna Estates that hasn't seen residents return home already, as well as homes along Westside Road.

"These are the neighbourhoods where the fire was most devastating, where almost all of the losses in our jurisdiction were sustained," the fire chief said, noting that some in the area will experience "a longer wait" for evacuation orders to be lifted.

"We are working hard at ongoing identification and assessment that needs to be completed in this neighbourhood. We need to go house-by-house, street-by-street and look at who can safely go home and who can't."

Other neighbourhoods where evacuation orders remain in place – including Smith Creek, Tallus Ridge, Shannon Woods and Bartley Road – will likely be able to return home sooner, Brolund said.

"Some of you will likely be returning this afternoon, although not all of you," he said.

'TREMENDOUS PROGRESS'

Brolund said the community has made "tremendous progress" over the eight days since the McDougall Creek wildfire swept into the city.

"If, over the next eight days, we make the same amount of progress, we're going to be in an even better spot," he said.

Loyal Wooldridge, the chair of the Central Okanagan Regional District board, opened Saturday's news conference with a similar sentiment.

"When I spoke to you this time last week, we were fighting three out-of-control fires and we had 10,700 properties on evacuation order," Wooldridge said.

The two fires burning on the east side of Okanagan Lake were classified as "being held" earlier this week, and as of Saturday morning there were 3,400 evacuation orders remaining in place, Wooldridge said.

"This is incredible work," he said. "It's very easy to start getting orders in place and remove people, but the work comes with getting people back in communities."

LAKE COUNTRY ORDERS BEING LIFTED

The number of remaining orders is expected to decrease further on Saturday, with Lake Country Mayor Blair Ireland saying he expected all orders in his municipality to be downgraded to alerts sometime in the afternoon.

He called the move "great news," but asked residents to wait for the official announcement from the regional district before attempting to return home, and to remain vigilant and cautious when they do.

"People must remember: The fire is being held, the fire is not out," Ireland said.