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THE OKANAGAN played host to elite rugby talent last weekend when a RugbyDaze sevens tournament took over the Kelowna Apple Bowl.
COLUMNIST Maxine DeHart is leading the cheers for the longawaited opening of a new Old Navy store in the Orchard Park Shopping Centre.
TAMAR ILANA and the Ventanas bring world beat folk music to the Minstrel Cafe on July 24, their songs having musical roots to the Mediterranean played on a wide range of instruments.
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THURSDAY July 17, 2014 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
Fruit growers need fruit pickers
▼ WEST KELOWNA
Forest fires blamed on carelessness Wade Paterson STAFF REPORTER
Less than a week ago, West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater and Fire Chief Wayne Schnitzler offered several wildfire prevention tips through a joint press release. “Human-caused fires are much more common than naturally occurring fires and completely preventable too,” said Schnitzler, adding the expected upcoming hot weather would increase the risk of wildfires. Days later the district was hit with two significant wildfires, both of which took dozens of firefighters and overnight efforts to extinguish. According to Schnitzler, Tuesday afternoon’s blaze on Mount Boucherie was likely human-caused. “The investigators searched the area and there’s nothing to say that it was naturally caused,” said Schnitzler. “But to pinpoint exactly what that was—there’s no evidence there. The most we can say is human-caused and undetermined at this point.” The Mount Boucherie fire was started near a trail and first reported just after 3 p.m. Tuesday. West Kelowna firefighters began working on what was initially a two-hectare brush fire. Soon after, helicopters began dropping buck-
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FOUR aircraft and 48 firefighters fought a blaze, which started on the south side of Mount Boucherie around 3 p.m. Tuesday. Crews had controlled the fire and were in the mop-up stage, putting out hot spots, by Wednesday. ets of water and airplanes dropped fire retardant on the blaze, which grew to about 4.24 hectares. Forty-eight firefighters, 17 pieces of fire apparatus and four aircraft worked late hours to control the brush fire. Crews were in the mop-up stage by Wednesday morning, putting out hot spots and reinforcing fire guards. As of Wednesday afternoon the fire was 100
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per cent guarded. The priority for Wednesday evening was to lay a hose from the bottom of the mountain to the top to allow firefighters to attack active hot spots along the south side of the fire. Two tree fallers also worked to remove danger
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“Once you’ve evacuated, once you go through that experience in your life, your life isn’t quite the same,” said Findlater, who was evacuated twice during the Glenrosa wildfire in 2009. Earlier in the week, an unattended campfire started a forest fire in Smith Creek. The campfire was lo-
A shortage of workers to pick and sort fruit in the Okanagan and work in the orchards during the current cherry season and the upcoming apple season has prompted a call from the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association for more pickers. And it’s not alone. The local fruit growers co-op is also placing radio advertisements looking for workers as well. According to the BCFGA general manager Glen Lucas, an estimated 3,000 workers are needed for the annual cherry harvest, which typically runs from July 15 to Aug. 15. Another 1,500 are needed for packing. Lucas said while about half the number needed for picking typically come from other countries, such as Mexico and several Caribbean nations, the program that the fruit growing industry uses to provide farmers with help needs more B.C. and Canadian pickers. Unlike the foreign
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trees ahead of firefighters. Findlater was in his office when he got the call about the Mount Boucherie fire Tuesday. He said he was impressed by the immediate firefighting response. “(I) just watched those bombers work, and the artistry of those pilots where they laid down the retardant in a nice, neat box around it,” said Findlater. “They did a fantastic
job.” He said the last notable fire on Mount Boucherie occurred in 1992. “Some kids were playing with matches and that fire went up and over and they evacuated Lakeview Heights.” Some residents who have lived in Lakeview Heights for decades were calling the mayor Tuesday, fearing they might have to once again evacuate 22 years later.
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