Urgent Advisory Thompson Okanagan Wildfire Update

The wildfire situation in the Thompson Okanagan is, and continues to be, extremely serious.

On Friday, August 18, the Government of British Columbia declared a provincial State of Emergency to enact emergency orders, including travel restrictions to specific areas if needed. 

Residents and visitors have been asked to avoid all non-essential travel to the Central Interior and Southeast parts of the province. For those who must travel, please refer to the BC Wildfire interactive map, and emergencyinfobc.ca to learn about evacuation alerts and orders.

We are working closely with our municipal, regional and provincial partners to assist emergency and wildfire responders wherever possible with the current situation. The safety of our community, local businesses, and visitors are our top priority. We ask everyone to follow the instructions of emergency responders.

 Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by the complex wildfires in Keremeos and Oliver, West Kelowna, Kelowna, Lake Country, and the Shuswap, Adams Lake, and Lee Creek fires, as well as the numerous additional fires that are igniting.

We also want to thank all of the firefighters, first responders, and volunteers for all that they are doing to fight the numerous blazes and keep people safe and protected.
We want to ensure you have timely information and key messages to share with your employees and guests where needed. Please see below:

From August 19 through 21 hot, dry, and windy conditions are expected around many parts of BC, leading to increased wildfire risk. Slightly cooler temperatures, thunderstorms and rain are forecasted for the days ahead in the Central Okanagan. 

Residents and visitors are asked to avoid all non-essential travel to the Central Interior and Southeast parts of the province, as well as any areas that are currently under an evacuation alert or order. 

• If you must travel, please refer to the BC Wildfire interactive map, and emergencyinfobc.ca to learn about evacuation alerts and orders.

• For those needing to re-book travel for another time, or to make alternative plans to unaffected parts of the province, Visitor Centres are available to assist.

• Water access must be prioritized for fire suppression efforts. Okanagan Lake users are asked to keep boats away from areas where other aviation resources are operating.

• Refrain from drone use. Drones are a significant hazard to air crews fighting fires, and it is both illegal and irresponsible to fly them in fire-affected areas. 

• The situation can change rapidly, and anyone traveling in BC is asked to monitor official information sources regularly, including the BC Wildfire Service and DriveBC. 

• Be prepared for changes and further evacuation alerts and orders. 

• Visitors are encouraged to download and allow notifications from Alertable: a community notification app with customizable settings to receive the latest local alerts, such as road closures and evacuation information, straight to your mobile device.

For the latest information please refer to ThompsonOkanagan.com’s Know Before You Go page. 

If you need further assistance with guidance and messaging with visitors in your community or business, please reach out. 

Keremeos Creek Wildfire Impacting Parts of Okanagan-Similkameen

The Keremeos Creek Wildfire is impacting parts of the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen, including Keremeos, Hedley, Olalla, Skaha West, Kaleden, Apex, and Highway 3a. There are several evacuation orders and alerts in place, as well as heavy smoke over Olalla and Marsel.

The BC Wildfire Service is managing the situation and crews continue to work around the clock to protect structures.

For up to date information, see the BC Wildfire Service info page and the DriveBC Current Incidents page.

Funding to Reduce Community Wildfire Risks, Enhance Forest Health

To reduce wildfires in higher-risk communities, the BC government is providing $25 million in new funding to the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC). This investment will support community projects that reduce wildfire risk and enhance wildlife habitat, greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, forest recreation and ecological resiliency.

The Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) is accepting applications to fund projects to assist the Province of British Columbia in reducing wildfire risk and increasing community resiliency to wildfire across BC.

View Announcement →

Virtual Info Session

FESBC will host a virtual information session via Zoom on June 28 for potential applicants to review the application process on the Forest Enhancement Society’s Information Management System and the guidebook.

If you are unable to attend, please email FESBC Communications at communications@fesbc.ca for the session recording.

Register for Info Session →

Message From TOTA Board Chair - Voice Your Concerns

On behalf of the Thompson Okanagan Board of Directors and our entire TOTA team I wanted to reach out to industry with a few comments and updates.

For most of the Thompson Okanagan region, what we had hoped and needed to be a banner summer, bringing us through to the end of the pandemic and into recovery, has not materialized. Plagued with extreme heat, numerous and continuing wildfires, serious smoke conditions, alerts, evacuations and an uptick in COVID numbers, we know the losses to our industry continue to escalate and are devastating.

Working together, myself as your TOTA Chair and board member on TIABC; TOTA CEO Ellen Walker-Matthews; Ingrid Jarrett, BCHA CEO and past TOTA Chair; as well as many other regional partners, we are in direct ongoing conversations with both TIABC CEO Walt Judas and BC Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport officials. We have been and continue to brief them on the immediate and long term impacts of the recommendations issued; the misinformation that has occurred through media and online media sources; and most importantly the need for financial relief to keep our tourism industry businesses open and operating.

There are more meetings scheduled today, Monday, August 23, and we have been asked to quantify the magnitude of the current situation. If you are able to provide us any information or feedback in the next 24 hours on the impact to your tourism business, it will enable us to have a very specific conversation with the government on the magnitude of the situation and the immediacy of the need.

You can provide information through TOTA's Voice Your Concerns form or by emailing Recovery@TOTABC.com.

- Michael J. Ballingall, TOTA Chair

Michael J. Ballingall

TOTA Board Chair