Skip to content

Shuswap residents get first look at area wildfire ‘changed dramatically’

Tours set for Bush Creek East, where wildfire destroyed or damaged as many as 200 homes.
33814745_web1_20230905190928-64f7ba591e6859f0a04f3e1cjpeg
Smoke rises from the Bush Creek East wildfire in an undated handout photo. Residents of one of the regions most devastated by wildfires in British Columbia will be touring the burned-out site today.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-B.C. Wildfire Service

Some residents of one of the regions most devastated by wildfires in British Columbia will be touring the burned-out site today.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District says in a statement that “some areas of the community have changed dramatically” after the Bush Creek East wildfire swept through, destroying or damaging as many as 200 homes.

It says the district is conducting the tour to give a clear picture of the damage and hazards in that area to help residents prepare for their return.

The media will get a similar tour a few hours after residents have looked over their homes.

After weeks of evacuation orders and alerts because of the wildfire, the district has outlined a plan for a staged re-entry process starting today.

Derek Sutherland, the director of the district’s emergency operations centre, says the fire zone is still dangerous because of the significant damage and no one should enter burned buildings or forests, while water in the area should not be consumed.

READ ALSO: Evacuation orders lifting as B.C. wildfire battle tide turns

READ ALSO: ‘Absolutely untrue’: West Kelowna Fire Chief on claims that homes were left to burn