Just talked to Fire Chief Dan Skaros and Media relations officer Rob Graham

Any homes lost?- one – in a remote area of Wilson-Patten Rd – crews could not save it and little is known about it.

Any other homes damaged or lost in Testalinda area or Downtown Oliver – NO

Fire lines maintained to save lives and homes.

State of Emergency – direct question to Chief Skaros – Were you consulted on this?  NO

Are you happy with the handling by the RDOS on evacuation notice and services –  so far – YES

(360 homes evacuated – no change on that status at 2:30pm)

 

Please note the following:

Brother’s home on Wilson Mtn Rd. is lost along with others in the area…  Good hard work by firefighters prevented loss of homes in Oliver….

Gary Maitland

My brother’s house that he was renting was on Wilson Mountain Rd. He, his girlfriend, dog and cat were in the house when the fire started nearby. Power went dim and then out. They just had time to get out and watched as the area went up. Fire Department ordered everyone out. The cat ran from truck but was recovered today, blackened and traumatized. House, camping trailer and boat were completely lost. I can’t say for sure but he told me other homes in that area were surely lost too. My brother said had the fire started in the middle of the night, they may not have made it out, due to the speed of the blaze. No insurance on content of house and they stayed at a motel last night. My brother and his girlfriend were both working in Calgary and came home for the weekend. They are contemplating simply going back and maybe just staying there. Our family and friends are going to see what we can do to help.

I simply wanted to let readers know that there had indeed been structures lost on top of the mountain area. Sorry for any confusion. Keep up the good work. I have been following all stories and found Southokanaganphotos.ca best source for this disaster.