RDCK confirms structure loss due to Komonko Creek, Nemo Creek Wildfires
By The Nelson Daily Staff
The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) confirmed Monday that there have been multiple structure losses along Highway 6 in Electoral Area H due to the Komonko Creek wildfire, as well as on the west side of Slocan Lake in Electoral Area H due to the Nemo Creek wildfire.
The RDCK’s building department and fire services team, with support from BC Wildfire Service, conducted initial assessments called Rapid Damage Assessments (RDA) of the affected areas.
“Our thoughts are with residents who have suffered such great loss due to the Slocan Lake Complex wildfires,” said Walter Popoff, RDCK Electoral Area H Director in media release Monday.
“We know residents have been anxiously awaiting news about the status of their properties and appreciate their patience and understanding during these challenging times, as the primary concern remains the safety of first responders and residents.”
The RDCK said that due to the ongoing dangerous conditions in the area, this work was completed over multiple days, when it was deemed safe to do so.
“Following the completion of the assessments, individual RDA reports and photographs were compiled for each property,” the RDCK media release said.
“The RDCK Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) then began the process of connecting directly with each property owner, to provide the status of their property and to provide owners with the opportunity to ask questions.”
The RDCK can confirm the Komonko Creek wildfire (formerly known as the Aylwin Creek wildfire), part of the Slocan Lake Complex, resulted in the loss of primary structures and outbuildings (non-residential structures) on Highway 6 between the southern entrance to Red Mountain Road and north of the Village of Slocan. A summary of the impact is as follows:
- Three single family dwellings and 11 outbuildings experienced total structure loss
- Two single family dwellings and two outbuildings experienced structure damage
The RDCK can confirm the Nemo Creek wildfire, part of the Slocan Lake Complex, also resulted in the loss of structures and outbuildings on the west side of Slocan Lake. A summary of the impact is as follows:
- Two seasonal cabins and two outbuildings experienced total structure loss
- One cabin experienced structure damage
“The RDCK remains committed to supporting property owners throughout this challenging period and will continue to provide updates and resources as they become available,” said Popoff.
The Evacuation Order in relation to the Komonko Creek (4,006.4 Hectares) and Nemo Creek (5,810 Hectares) wildfires were downgraded to an Evacuation Alert on Monday, August 12.
The RDCK Emergency Operations Centre also downgraded the Evacuation Order for 208 properties in the Village of Slocan, as well as 256 properties and 133 parcel identifiers (PIDs) in Electoral Area H to an Evacuation Alert due to the Ponderosa and Mulvey Creek wildfires, part of the Slocan Lake Complex.
The Village of Slocan and surrounding area had been on Evacuation Order since July 28.
The Slocan Lake Complex includes the Aylwin Creek wildfire, Komonko Creek wildfire, Mulvey Creek wildfire, Nemo Creek wildfire, and Ponderosa wildfire. A complex is created when multiple wildfires are managed by a single Incident Management Team, and resources and equipment are shared between all incidents in the complex.
The Ponderosa and Mulvey Creek wildfires were first discovered on July 18 and the suspected cause of both is a lightning strike.
Information regarding Evacuation Alerts and Orders, as well as access to various resources, including the RDCK’s re-entry guide is available on the RDCK website.
Currently according to the BC Wildfire Service website there are 414 active wildfires in the province with 34 new fires starting in the last 24 hours.
There are six wildfires of note in the province, including the Komonko Creek, Argenta Creek (19,153 Hectares) and Dogtooth (5,670 Hectares) in the Southeast Fire Centre.
