2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire

2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire
Date(s)	August 16, 2003 (2003-08-16)
Location	Okanagan Mountain Park
Statistics
Burned area	25,912 hectares (64,030 acres)[1]
Land use	Parkland, rural
Impacts
Non-fatal injuries	water bomber crash
Structures destroyed	239
Ignition
Cause	lightning strike
Map
Perimeter of 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire (map data)

On August 16, 2003, at about 4 a.m. local time, a wildfire started via lightning strike near Rattlesnake Island in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada. The wildfire was fuelled by a constant wind and the driest summer on record up to that time.^[2] Within a few days it grew into a firestorm.

The fire spread 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, consuming 239 homes. The final size of the firestorm was over 250 square kilometres (25,912 ha or 64,030 acres).^[1] Most of the trees in Okanagan Mountain Park 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 a number of aircraft used in an attempt to extinguish the fire, including 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. Amateur radio operators assisted during the emergency.

That total cost was estimated at $33.8 million.^[1]

See also

• McDougall Creek Fire: A wildfire started on August 15, 2023 in the Okanagan region of British Columbia
• Operation Peregrine
• List of fires in Canada
• List of disasters in Canada

References

External links

• "Okanagan Mountain fire: house sites aftermath". Retrieved 14 January 2009. Photographs of housing sites a few weeks after the fire, in September and October, 2003. Dr. Denis Wall Copyright.
• "Okanagan Mountain Fire Watch". Castanet.net. Archived from the original on 20 September 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2005. – Firewatch page set up for local residents during the fire (has many photos)
• NASA/JPL satellite image of fires in Northwestern North America August 21, 2003 (1800x1500px)

Links to news articles

• "The Okanagan Mountain Park forest fire: Ten years later". CBC.ca. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
• "10 years later: Remembering the Okanagan Mountain Park fire (Gallery)". GlobalNews.ca. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
• PROCAYLO, NICK. "Okanagan Mountain Park fire, then and now". TheProvince.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.