In August 2023, the City of West Kelowna, British Columbia, faced an unprecedented wildfire event that affected the rthern portions of the community. During this event, approximately 90 homes in the City of West Kelowna and 90 homes in neighbouring communities were lost to this Wildland Urban Interface Fire. While this is certainly a tragedy, hundreds of other homes were saved thanks to the efforts of West Kelowna Fire Rescue and West Kelowna Public Works. Please join West Kelowna’s Deputy Fire Chief Chad Gartrell and West Kelowna’s Public Works Manager Chris Anderson as they share stories from the 72-hour period when the fire was ravaging the community, a 72-hour time period that won’t soon be forgotten. Delegates will hear firsthand how APWA’s “Public Works First Responder” is certainly true and shows how two crucial city departments worked hand in hand to successfully battle the 2023 McDougall Creek Wildfire. In this session, delegates will also hear from the speakers about the lessons learned and will be provided with suggestions on how to prepare their community for a similar emergency response.
At the conclusion of this session participants will be better able to:
• Review the McDougall Creek Wildland Urban Interface Fire from August 2023.
• Recognize how “Public Works First Responder” was particularly true in this challenging situation, especially as it relates to water supply during an interface fire.
• Consider and plan for some of the potential challenges in the event of a similar emergency response.

Contributor/Source

Chad Gartell

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