West Kelowna fires spook Albertans' vacation plans

Forest fires burning in West Kelowna, B.C., have some Albertans rethinking vacation plans to the popular destination.

Two thoroughfares that were closed over the weekend because of the fires reopened Tuesday morning — B.C.'s Highways 97 and 97C south of West Kelowna — as thousands of residents returned to homes they had evacuated.

Travellers having second thoughts about heading west may still be able to change their bookings, Alberta Motor Association spokesman Kent Dixon said.

"If people have reservations booked at either hotels or motels in the Kelowna area and are still at least 48 hours out from their reservation date, most hotels and motels are being quite accommodating about changing those reservations."

Dixon also said airlines will usually allow passengers to reschedule.

"If your flight is proceeding as scheduled, the airlines are actually being very accommodating with passengers who would prefer not to travel at this time. So if you're concerned at all about safety or smoke smells or anything like that, if your flight is still proceeding you can contact your airline and check with them about possibly rescheduling. "

Concerns about air quality

Calgary resident Tehmina Ali said she is watching the situation closely because her family has a vacation planned in a week that includes a stop in Kelowna.

"We have an eight-year-old son also, and we're taking him.... If the air quality is poor, bad, then we'd change our plans," she said.

Janet Darwish and her daughter Tamara returned to Calgary from West Kelowna on Sunday night. They were enjoying a wine tasting tour when the wildfires started Saturday, and they couldn't get back to their hotel because of an evacuation order.

Darwish scrambled to find a hotel a two-hour drive away for the night, but saw other people just pull over and camp on the side of the highway.

"When you're caught up in the thick of it, it's quite scary," she said. "You can see the flames, you can see the water bombers coming down, you can see all the red right in front of you. And you're feeling for all these people who are being thrown out of their houses."

The next day Darwish was able to retrieve her luggage and drove home to Calgary.

Three fires are burning in the West Kelowna area, one of which is to the north at Terrace Mountain and has not been threatening any homes.

About 6,000 residents of the community began returning home Tuesday morning. Another 5,000 were unable to return to their houses, as crews continued to battle the two closest fires, and a further 6,000 residents who were not forced out of their homes remained under an evacuation alert.