2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire
On August 16, 2003, at about 4 a.m., a wildfire was started by a lightning strike near Rattlesnake Island in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. The wildfire was fuelled by a constant wind and the driest summer on record up to that time. Within a few days it had grown into a true firestorm.
The fire grew northward and eastward, initially threatening a small number of lakeshore homes, but quickly became an interface zone fire and forced the evacuation of 27,000 residents and consumed 239 homes. The final size of the firestorm was over 250 square kilometers. Most of the trees in Okanagan Mountain Park were burned, and the park was closed.
60 fire departments, 1,400 armed forces troops and 1,000 forest fire fighters took part in controlling the fire, but were largely incapable of stopping the disaster.
There were also at least three private Canadair CL-215s, four Government of Alberta owned Canadair CL-215s, four private Lockheed L188 Electra air tankers and at least one Martin Mars air tanker attempting to put out the fire.
Amateur radio operators helped pass emergency traffic during this emergency. That cost was estimated at CAD $33.8 million.
Castanet News released an article to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the fire:Links to news articles
