The Town of Osoyoos remains in a State of Emergency due to the Nk’Mip wildfire, while a number of properties in town continue to be under evacuation alert orders.
At the moment, all properties north of Highway 3 and east of Cottonwood Drive and West of 45th Street are on evacuation alert. Visitors and tourists in town were asked to go back home, if possible.
Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff states that there are no other areas within the Town of Osoyoos which will be put under evacuation alert anytime soon.
A reception centre is open in Oliver at the Oliver Legion for evacuees. Additionally, as the fire continues to grow, The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary has declared a State of Local Emergency in Electoral Area E/West Boundary and set up an evacuation centre in Grand Forks at the Jack Goddard Memorial Arena at 2020 Central Avenue
However, according to McKortoff, there will not be a reception centre set up in Osoyoos for now as there is no need. She also adds that it is not up to the Town of Osoyoos to decide to have a reception centre, but rather the Regional District.
“It’s very costly, and it takes a lot of volunteers to get these reception centres up and running and have it all coordinated. They felt that the one in Oliver was set up and ready to go has been doing a good job,” said McKortoff who explained that it’s not practical to set up multiple centres with limited resources and makes more sense to have a coordinated effort.
While there hasn’t been an evacuation order for any of the residents in the Town of Osoyoos, residents under evacuation order within the Osoyoos Indian Band area are staying in hotels and have gone to the Oliver Legion, according to McKortoff. Visitors who were staying at the Spirit Ridge Resort and Campgrounds have been advised to go back home.
However, if a need were to arise that Osoyoos required a reception centre, McKortoff said they would work with Emergency Management BC (EMBC) and the RDOS to set one up.
The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Osoyoos is set up at the fire hall where the town staff was gathered and worked together to coordinate the media information, eNews for the town, etc.
McKortoff also reminded people to not be on the lake, especially on the north end of the lake where the skimmers and helicopters are picking up water.
“I’ve had several people tell me that I should go out there and demand that they all get off the lake. But I can’t and I don’t have the ability to do that,” she said, explaining that since it’s international waters, the town doesn’t have jurisdiction to enforce the issue, rather the RCMP who can enforce that.
For any concerns or questions, please contact Osoyoos Town Hall at (250)-495-6515
