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CELEBRATE KELOWNA!

A community appreciation day in honour of those who protected our community during the Okanagan Mountain Park fire is appropriately held on Thanksgiving Day Monday, October 13th. The day began with a parade at 10 a.m. along Bernard Avenue and Water Street. The parade feature the Royal Canadian Legion Pipe Band, members of the Kelowna Fire Department, RCMP, BC Ambulance Services, BC Forestry, other municipal fire departments that helped in Kelowna, Armed Forces personnel, ESS volunteers, contractors, City and Regional District staff who manned the Emergency Operations Centre and various vehicles and equipment used in the fire fighting effort. A thank you ceremony in Skyreach Place followed at 12 p.m. with speeches by Mayor Walter Gray, Fire Chief Gerry Zimmermann and others, as well as videos and musical entertainment. The Celebrate Kelowna! festival will continued out of doors following the ceremony, in the Skyreach Place parking lot and the Arts Common (located between the Rotary Centre for the Arts and the Kelowna Art Gallery). The festival featured family activities and entertainment including dog agility performances, face painting, crafts, a petting zoo and climbing wall. In addition, six different musical groups performed throughout the day on two outdoor stages.



KELOWNA, B.C. - Despite the outpouring of friendship and support in the face of wildfires around Kelowna, some people have taken advantage of empty homes and a lack of security. Pamela Glendenning and her husband took most of their valuable possessions, but locked up ones they could not take, including their prized boat, a classic 1969 Century. It was stored in a locked compound, protected by a security system and a car parked in front of the entrance. But thieves managed to bypass the protective measures and remove the boat. "It's very special. It's not replaceable. There's nothing else like it," said Glendenning. She and her husband are offering a reward, but they fear they may never see their boat again. "I'm afraid it's in the back of some truck being hauled down to Calgary or down East or something," said Glendenning. Jason Grill says his family lost several all-terrain vehicles they had stored in a locked facility, including one owned by his mentally handicapped brother. "He saved for years and years to buy this bike and now it's gone," said Grill. Thieves have also struck behind the police blockades. Sunday night, a vehicle filled with someone's belongings was stolen from a driveway in front of a home. "We have 23 roadblocks set up, as well as numerous roving patrols that are doing their very best to maintain security in the areas," Const. Heather MacDonald said. RCMP say they will reassess the security in the area, but that there will always be people who take advantage of the situation.

				Boat that was stolen during evacuation.



	Back to Stories	St. Hubert Winery	Courage


	The Return Home


	30,000 Return Home Emergency officials expect nearly everyone forced from their homes by the fire to be back home by Friday afternoon. But forestry officials say a blast of wind from the wrong direction could again put the city at risk. It means the fire trucks from around the province will soon be heading home. The fire that destroyed nearly 250 homes is shifting and emergency officials are hoping it won't come back. "We are in to recovery and rebuilding," said Kelowna fire Chief Gerry Zimmermann. He hopes that by next Tuesday he'll be able to declare Kelowna safe from the fire. But things are far from normal for the hundreds of people whose houses were destroyed. Fire commissioner Rob Owens says it is far too soon to relax. "The fire is still active, and although it may be safe under the current conditions to return to your home, an evacuation alert is still in place and you must be ready to leave if requested to do so again." Nearly all of the 30,000 people forced from their homes by the Okanagan Mountain Park fire will be back home within 24 hours, but the emergency command centre will remain staffed and officials will remain on alert, until the powerful and unpredictable fire is finally put out.


	Those That Lost Some are returning to find their homes intact; others are finding only ash and melted metal as 234 homes were destroyed by the wild fires. Murray Roed is trying to hold onto his sense of humour while his sifts though the rubble of what was his family home. He says at least they won't have to hold a garage sale. Murray says he'll rebuild, but will be much more careful and try to build a house that's fireproof this time. "Every day gets better, as I'm trying to do regular things and not think about my house," Celeste Ash said.


	CELEBRATE KELOWNA! A community appreciation day in honour of those who protected our community during the Okanagan Mountain Park fire is appropriately held on Thanksgiving Day Monday, October 13th. The day began with a parade at 10 a.m. along Bernard Avenue and Water Street. The parade feature the Royal Canadian Legion Pipe Band, members of the Kelowna Fire Department, RCMP, BC Ambulance Services, BC Forestry, other municipal fire departments that helped in Kelowna, Armed Forces personnel, ESS volunteers, contractors, City and Regional District staff who manned the Emergency Operations Centre and various vehicles and equipment used in the fire fighting effort. A thank you ceremony in Skyreach Place followed at 12 p.m. with speeches by Mayor Walter Gray, Fire Chief Gerry Zimmermann and others, as well as videos and musical entertainment. The Celebrate Kelowna! festival will continued out of doors following the ceremony, in the Skyreach Place parking lot and the Arts Common (located between the Rotary Centre for the Arts and the Kelowna Art Gallery). The festival featured family activities and entertainment including dog agility performances, face painting, crafts, a petting zoo and climbing wall. In addition, six different musical groups performed throughout the day on two outdoor stages.