6,000 West Kelowna fire evacuees head home

About 6,000 residents of West Kelowna, B.C., began returning home Tuesday morning, after large parts of the Okanagan community were evacuated Saturday because of forest fires.

Police began allowing residents of almost 2,000 homes north of Glenrosa Road and north of Powers Creek back into the neighbourhood around 6:30 a.m. PT, after checking identification to verify they lived in the area.

But the residents were told to be ready to leave again at a moment's notice, as the area remains under an evacuation alert. They were also warned there could be deadly hazards from the fire in the neighbourhood, including unstable trees, underground hotspots and damage to homes.

Another 5,000 residents were unable to return home, as crews continued to battle two fires burning in the area, and a further 6,000 residents who were not forced out of their homes remained under an evacuation alert.

Highways reopened

B.C.'s Highway 97 and 97C south of West Kelowna reopened Tuesday morning after being closed over the weekend because of the forest fires.

The highways, which connect the Kelowna area with southern parts of the Okanagan Valley and the Coquihalla Highway to Vancouver, reopened at 6 a.m. PT. Officials determined that the smoke from the fires was no longer a danger to motorists, but traffic on Highway 97 was limited to one lane in each direction as crews worked in the area.

Fire officials said the Glenrosa fire is now 60 per cent contained but the Rose Valley fire is only 10 per cent contained.

Terrace Mountain residents on alert

A third fire to the north at Terrace Mountain has not been threatening any homes, but a handful of homeowners near Fintry, about 40 kilometres north of West Kelowna, were placed on evacuation alert Monday afternoon.

Residents of the 10 properties in the sparsely populated Fintry High Farm area were warned to be ready to leave on short notice as the wildfire continues to grow. 

The blaze was only 20 per cent contained by Tuesday morning after strong winds pushed it  to 13-square kilometres in size from eight-square-kilometres on Monday.