2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire

2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire
View of the fire from Westbank
Satellite image of the 2003 fire

On August 16, 2003 a wildfire was started by a lightning strike near Rattlesnake Island in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. The wildfire was fuelled by a constant wind and one of the driest summers in the past decade. Within a few days it had grown into a true firestorm.

The fire grew northward and eastward, initially threatening a small amount of lakeshore homes, but quickly became an interface zone fire and forced the evacuation of 27,000 residents and consumed 239 homes. The final size of the firestorm was over 250 square kilometres (61,776 acres). Most of the trees in Okanagan Mountain Park were burned, and the park was closed.

60 fire departments, 1,400 armed forces troops and 1,000 forest fire fighters took part in controlling the fire, but were largely helpless in stopping the disaster.

There were also at least 10 Conair owned Canadair CL-215s and at least one Martin Mars water bomber working the fire. Aside from a crash by a water bomber, there was no loss of human life during the entire incident.

Amateur Radio Operators helped pass emergency traffic during this emergency.

See also

Operation PEREGRINE over $505 million dollars of repair.

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park — Okanagan Mountain Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, focused on the mountain of the same name and located on the east side of Okanagan Lake, opposite Peachland and immediately south of the City of Kelowna. The park is one of… …   Wikipedia

  • Okanagan Mountain — Okanagan Mountain …   Wikipedia

  • 2003 — This article is about the year 2003. 2003 : January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September&# …   Wikipedia

  • Rattlesnake Island (Okanagan Lake) — For other places with the same name, see Rattlesnake Island (disambiguation). Rattlesnake Island is a small island on Okanagan Lake, directly east from Peachland. The land and shore surrounding the island form part of Okanagan Mountain Park.… …   Wikipedia

  • Kettle Valley Railway — The Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway that operated in the Thompson Okanagan region of southern British Columbia.It opened in 1915 and was abandoned in portions beginning in 1961, with the final segment… …   Wikipedia

  • Kettle Valley Rail Trail — The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is a multi use recreational rail trail located in the Thompson Okanagon region of southern British Columbia.The trail uses a rail corridor that was originally built for the now abandoned Kettle Valley Railway. The… …   Wikipedia

  • Operation PEREGRINE — was a domestic Canadian military operation that took place between August 3 and September 16 2003.In early August 2003, British Columbia was overwhelmed by over 800 separate forest fires. Provincial fire services were stretched to the breaking… …   Wikipedia

  • Operation Peregrine — was a domestic Canadian military operation that took place between August 3 and September 16, 2003. In early August 2003, British Columbia was overwhelmed by over 800 separate forest fires. Provincial fire services were stretched to the breaking… …   Wikipedia

  • Kelowna — City of Kelowna Kelowna and Okanagan Lake …   Wikipedia

  • Scouting in Alberta — has a long history, from the 1900s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. In 1983, the 15th World Scout Jamboree was held at Kananaskis Country, an area of Provincial Park 4,000… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”