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Fire, floods and wild winds

The Okanagan is getting a taste of a almost every type of weather imaginable this week.
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From flooding, to wild winds, to forest fires and now snow; the Okanagan is being hit by wild weather from all angles.

A forest fire is burning near Lumby placing homes on Cooper Road and Hurt Road on an evacuation alert. Tuesday evening the blaze was eight hectares in size and BC Wildfire Service was called to the scene. The cause of the fire is not known.

While at the same time in the North Okanagan properties on the Okanagan Indian Band are being evacuated due to flooding.

Forestry crews are both in the north and south Okanagan, fighting flames in Lumby and sandbagging in Kelowna and Penticton.

Tuesday’s night’s wind storm brought havoc to the Shuswap as trees fell on hydro lines knocking out power to more than 12,000 customers. Debris also fell across local roads blocking access and winds caused serious issues for boats and properties along Shuswap Lake.

Despite warm temperatures reaching nearly 30 C in the Okanagan Valley on Tuesday, the B.C. Interior Highways are seeing snow today.

A special weather statement is in effect for the Okanagan Connector and the Trans-Canada highway as a cold front brought freezing temperatures to the area overnight — Environment Canada is expecting a few centimetres of the white stuff to fall in mountain passes.


@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca

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Jen Zielinski

About the Author: Jen Zielinski

Graduated from the broadcast journalism program at BCIT. Also holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science and sociology from Thompson Rivers University.
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