KELOWNA FIRE STORM July 18 2009

[elijahcrazy]

i live near chute lake lol

[FlyWestSide]

At 25 sec you said kelowna it was actually on the westside, the fire! Warriors!!!

[Quailize]

Stunning footage! This video shows the true massive size of this blaze. Thanks for sharing!

[6Seraph6]

They were just steaming rice

[Jamie25465]

i live in kelowna so yeah phumps up if you live in kelowna

[Jamie25465]

i live in kelowna so yeah

[burn5500]

I remember this fire i lived across the lake from it. I remember the smoke being so thick that it would bring tearsto your eyes the second you stepped outside. However not as bad as 2003. Which i was 6 when it happened and 6 years later thi happens.

[sunsetreptiles]

you can not call this a fire storm when there is only one fire.

[2009kelowna]

but do u know how bad it is

[trailerparkboys4life]

We were very lucky because this fire could have been a hell of a lot worse. If the wind had have changed direction, then Glenrosa would have been a thing of the past.

[TheHondaAbuser]

wait what is he talking about? the fire was started by arson I was with my friends and Tony thats all u need 2 know was playin with matches and gasoline

[TheHondaAbuser]

I started the gorman fire!!! lol jk jk

[autumnsmith771]

your just jealous.

[hmori090]

fire is and always will be part of the Okanagan, despite the mt. oine beetle.

[landon1214]

fucking pine beetle fucking warmer winters damit damit

[TehEvilWolf]

this was the day of my birthday, i just wanted to say that hehe =D

[luongo298]

i watched that from the beach lol

[mrkaistr]

I say let the place burn,let the rich yuppy puppy's get the attion they so badly want and then they can spend there money rebuild,...and in an other 5 to ten years do it all over agian

[mecoffeeaddict]

What? you think people who live in Glenrosa are all rich yuppy's? Where the hell do you live? Obviously you're a little clued out....okay...ALOT clued out.

[Zattatar]

Hey, I live there!

And for your information not everyone here is rich - I'm not! An yes, I hate how Kelowna is becoming a stupid tourist attraction... All I want is peace!

[mrkaistr]

Oh what a pitty,Kelowna burning?.... Didin't see that one coming

[Matty521521]

i live in Glenrosa Mciver RD :D

[mecoffeeaddict]

Uh 10's of thousands...wouldn't that be like 10,000 people???? Uh yeah, I don't think that many people were evacuated buddy. Quit over exaggerating.

[startingforever]

I wouldn't say it's an exaggeration, all of Westbank past Glenrosa, past Gellatley pushing towards Boucherie were evacuated, easily up to and over 10,000 people. The fire did not spread far enough to threaten that many homes, but that many residents were definitely evacuated. Even more so put on alert (especially if you take into account Rose Valley fire, although I wouldn't group that with the Glenrosa fire)

[mecoffeeaddict]

I live in Penticton and I swear to God if those damn chink gangs in Kelowna start arriving here...I'll go VIGILANTE and get kill em all myself. Fuck the cops...do it right the first time.

[iiheartyouu16]

PS.

you should have been beaten for going near the mill where the road blocks where JUST TO FILM.

the police told ONLY evacuees that needed their stuff to go there. you sure didnt help them by getting in the way. jeeze.

[iiheartyouu16]

haha ooh wow. you are seriously pissing me off.

all of your stupid videos 'kelownas changing for the worst, all these problems' 'this is a catastrophe!'

dude. no. i live here. everyone freaked about the fires, and yeah, it was bad. but it was no where near a fire storm. and it sure as hell wasnt as bad as you make it seem.

why do i know this? i live in west kelowna and my family housed 2 families that were evacuated.

[MrRobbo53]

That fire fighter is way rude he should be drummed out for rudeness

[graffitifourlife1]

KELOWNA GRAFFITI HERE

.

.

.

[ORIGINALDESIGNS]

Why is the traffic headed towards the smoke crossing the road? That's the last place anybody wants to be.

Air drops will be ineffective once the fire is large enough to suck burning pine cones up in it's column. However this is NOT a column, whereas a column gets vertical and enters the upper atmosphere and carries burning embers 2 Km or so.

This fire definitely has spotting potential so I would say you got too close bro'. You couldn't get all those cars turned around fast enough.

[therealnathanspoor]

i live in kelowna its right across the lake i live in rutland its far away but its right across the okanagon lake

[sunsetreptiles]

you cant call every wild fire, forest fire a fire storm. there has to be the right conditions,

[sunsetreptiles]

They do that to any fire. Maybe you need to look up fire storm. I'm a fire fighter i think i would know a little more then you dumb ass.Look at this video and look at some of the fires that happened in San Diego in 2003 and 2007. that's a fucking fire storm jack ass.

[mecoffeeaddict]

p.s. So you're a firefighter eh? how about not being to rude to the person who made this video. I thought firefighters were nice guys??????

guess I thought WAY WRONG!!

[iiheartyouu16]

no, its true. he is an idiot. watch his other videos. and this was for SURE no where near 'fire storm'

three smallish fires doesnt make a fire storm

[sunsetreptiles]

That's no fire storm. fires in San Diego 2007 that's a fire storm this is nothing

[minispace]

Your an idiot, firefighters from across the country are getting called to this fire because its so bad. How can you say this is nothing...Look up 2003 kelowna fire, I bet thats nothing too right...Idiot.

[mecoffeeaddict]

you're kinda right sunset. People everywhere now seem to call forest fires "fire storms".

I guess it's the new terminology for a forest fire, however they are still storms because they're wreaking havoc on nature and homes. So really...it doesn't matter how big or small it is...it is still a fire storm. We're thankful they're not as big as San Diego and places like that.

[DodgeMan360]

Im from Nova Scotia and work for Natural Resources, we just sent a few crews to help the effort, hope its put out soon.

[Guitaraddict1337]

Apparently it's about 50% contained at the moment, last i heard

[halishinda]

Its nuts in B.C right now the record breaking heat here really isn't helping the fires either, the smoke is reaching Chilliwack at some points.

[lee5537]

Thanks for the info I lived in Vernon and Kelowna, but not for many years. Keep the videos coming..

[stingwcw1998]

i went to vernon and kellowna and it was way to smoky at thursday 2009 in july and teris mt fire is just crazy

[sangronloco]

hey amigos canadienses , mexico esta con ustedes y espero que este fuego sea controlado ...mis respetos por los esfuerzos de todos ustedes .suerte. beach bump

[Pandaren123]

hippie. lol

[stuart1127]

Hi when You get a chance could You do a bunch of vids in Chernobyl n Pripyat, You do a fine job

[bob00678]

did anyone stop to think that 4000 hectars is not really 4000 because think of how fast it burns, yes maybe it has burnt 4000 hectares, but at the moment that 4000 hectares is not in flames probably atleast half is done burn, not to mention trees after a forest fire are usually still standing its just the twigs, grass, and needles from trees

[WiFeSLaYer]

well put brother

and on a side not JCV dude you are extreme yeeee

[porchnapp]

Those fires are beautiful. Especially at night.

[jcberard]

MAN YOU NEED TO RELAX

[ktown4life1337]

it's over 4000 hectares now... this is not good...

[TRIXSTER03]

Ya, the fires are getting bad. My organization is already reviewing Emergency Callout Procedures in case we get called to duty in Kelowna.

[BritneyAndBrittney]

The smoke here is so discusting!!!

[MrTroydamico]

great video  terribly annoying commentary

[SammiexBroflovski]

i  almost live there.

[bluegrasschild]

PFFT. WOW what a fire... that looks so tiny.. UM did anyone see the fire's in AUS???? cool 173 dead in less then 12 hours. fire was traveling at 110 KPH...

[pigletspen]

People say we cannot afford to buy -1- plane to spray a fire and we have spent 52 million out of a 62 million dollar budget -- How much did you say one of those planes cost ?

[WiFeSLaYer]

K town is burnin mannggg goin slow but burnin yo.

Ye..

[Trubisha]

Dear JVC, Maybe you may as well do it in german if these oafs wanna bitch about your english! Thanks for your vids.

[TiannaMercedes]

i got evacuated. i live right where the fire is in rose valley. its scary. my house is like 1 minute walk to the fire.

[marbransch1976]

so scary

[JtvClipz]

jeez the owner of this video/this account speak english.. Its 400 hectares, not hectaire. Its a wildfire, not a fire storm.

[pelzdog]

cut the racist crap.

[WiFeSLaYer]

your like an imposter jcv dude... faggot

[dngo]

Is the fire still going on?

[Xxc0rrupti0nxX]

yeah. its all over the news in BC

[Johanswife]

British Columbia

<33333333333

[delicateflower87]

I'm from there and i'm heading to there this weekend. hopefully the road is clear

[stykke1985]

I am traveling to Kalowna next week, hope to fire storm will end sune :(

[s3xkytt3n]

These fires are just insane!!

My boyfriend lives in Ohio (and trust me, they don't get alot of Canadian news) and he said that they are even covering the fires on the news where he is.

Im praying for the people who are affected by this.

Natural disasters... although amazing, are so devastating...

[JoeMyre]

This news sounds fifty times as bad with the grim accent.

[jestarsrace06]

ashley vassuer is a cunt

[Flashbang09]

Smoke has worked it's way to Osoyoos, hurts my eyes

[TheCsFilms]

I live just dirrectly on the other side of the lake where the fire is, my whole area is smokey.... You have it easy. trust me

[mikemontana1990]

feel bad for kelowna man so shitty

[pigletspen]

Victoriarich

It is high time the C.O.K. and West Kelowna invest in one flying firetruck, that can get to the source quicker than in an hour. I watched the small fire grow into a sizable one in one hours time and quickly went out of control. Let us not bankrupt our towns, insurance companies and the province of B.C. California is bordering bankruptsy. Let us learn from others and make that investment. Put those cement pontooms aside and invest in our future.

The ROI on an investment is good.

[Flashlabs]

stupid smoke ive been having trouble breathing

[ndnguy7]

I agree with ellonysman on this one. You do have pretty good reporting skills. Me thinks you should pursue it.

[tayranchula]

ur voice is annoying

[brydon11]

...Taylor?

[tayranchula]

HAHAHA yes brydon it is

[AlexandriaLornaMusic]

this is fucking scary for people who are living here breathing in the smoke...i cant even walk out my door becuase i choke on the smoke....

[zinkerled]

OMG FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ellonysman]

jcvdude....you should have sent this to global news, vancouver they might have used it...good commentary and youre NOT what that other O said. Contact the global news room about more video you might have, they might formulate a better report with it! Rick

[gaiagale]

I was on the other side stopped from going through by the police. Hwy 97 was closed because so many people were stopped on the side of the road watching and hampering the containment crews. The people that I talked to were all pulling together and helping each other whereever they could. We were parked in the parking lot of Save On Foods watching the steady stream of helicopters carrying water to the fire fronts which were passing directly over head. People kept calm and quite philosophical.

[blaino123]

This is terrible fire...but you sound like an asshole.

[IYQ1317]

I lived directly across the lake from the 2003 Firestorm in the Peachland Area and I recognize a lot of the places filmed in your videos covering the fire. I've lived in and grew up in all 3 areas (Glenrosa, Westbank and Kelowna.) and I can clearly remember that once summer hit everything goes dry.

I thank you for the coverage and updates since I am unable to learn from elsewhere.

On a side note: I believe everyone would appreciate those who comment to be respectful of the situation.

[0Brad]

omg this is so gay

[l3g3nd1337]

thanks for the update on the fire

[lostcanadiansoul]

I was hitchhiking in 2003 down the highway surrounded by fires, the police picked me up and took me away from all the damage.

[ktown4life1337]

Here we go again....

[WhiTeShaDoW098345364]

Wow thanx for the info JCV, good footage and your comentary made way too much sence! please keep it up. we are in penticton and are getting all the smoke first hand... I hope the elderly and people with respitory problems are being looked after in peachland, summerland and in kelowna. May with a bit of luck, the officals might realize that certian precautions should be in place for times like these! Kelowna 2003 all over again??!!

[mikesoccer1]

I legitimately live 2 kms away from all 3 fires. In my videos you can see the footage of where my house is in comparison to the fires.

[animielover2010]

lol u went through oosoyous lol there was a gravel road sHortcut crossing to highwAy 33 lol. it was busy as hell.

[Ducott]

The fire is currently less than 2 miles from my Moms house. Please prey for her.

[BodiesAllFall]

i am sure that she would be on evacuation alert...or already evacuated

[Rikushix]

I remember in 2003, I went cycling on the Kettle Valley Railway about a week before the fire started. I even remember thinking at the time, "man, it's hot...it wouldn't take anything for a fire to start here".

[andrewroach91]

that fire ruined my camping trip to bear creek, been looking forward to it for 3 months. FUCK

[DWNSPRKS]

Get over it, peoples houses are being burnt down and you have to miss a camping trip

[zinkerled]

You sound upset with someone. Is there more to this story?

[livetorise]

Westbunk burning

[WookieMeatloaf]

Yeah i'm sittin in my apartment in Mid kelowna and i can see this fire rolling down the mountain, last night it looked like the fire was gonna jump the lake..but thankfully the wind died, but this Terrace Mountain Fire is getting up to 900 Hectares in size, they say no one is being immediately threatened though, which is good! We need the Mars Bomber again! if it hasnt been here yet.

[AnEveryDayEpidemic]

It would not be able to jump the lake ever. I seriously hope this is some form of a bad hyperbole.

[WookieMeatloaf]

it already did jump the lake once and attempted a second time! i thought that a kilometer wide lake would stop it, but it turns out the wind blowing the embers was under-estimated.

[twotallpaul1]

Ive fought wildfire for 21 years and in this time I have seen two fires jump aprox 2klm and start a fire just as bidg as the first one. causing one of the bigest ever that I fought red lake fire in ontario. burnt and area biger than from kelowna to ossoyoos

[HunterMichaelLange]

yea dude there was a fourth fire this morning in the mission greenway area this is really good to be posting all these videos so people know more about it (although everybody already does know about) really good footage there good job

5 stars and subscribed btw im out in winfield just across okanagan lake from the fintry fire its MASSIVE

[LittleSpringGirl]

There are 3 fires on the westside, Its crazy! One of them is 875 hectares and growing. I remeber the 2003 fire my family was evactued, we could stand at the end of our road and see the trees going down it was the scariest thing ever. I feel so sorry for everyone in West Kelowna. Its one of the worst feelings to ever have.

[conscious4now]

We really hope you guys in Kelowna stay safe.. Thinking of you all in Banff.

[sukkkmyballs]

this looks like a job for aqua man

[ehbra]

lol

[mikeetown]

this fire is bad man. There are 3 fires. One stretching from the gelatly to 4 km past the gormans mill, one AT rose valley lake, and one in fintry. #1: glenrosa is 450 hectares, #2 rose valley is 200 hectares, #3 fintry is 850 hectares. That how big the fires are. I live in a alert evac area called westbank.

[WiFeSLaYer]

Jah lol

[lonbohamilton]

Make sure you press mute when you start this video.

[Wolfboy2712]

Glad my house is on the other side of the lake. I'm up where all the dead trees are on the other side. It's also nice that I'm out of town.

[itsSparkky]

This video was much more informative with the sound off...

Seriously, this guy sounded 5 seconds off a rant about the Zion and the "New world order" lol.

Oh god, "evacuate the animals" whom live in an environment thats had forest fires for thousands of years; They obviously don't have the brains to do it themselves?

Pine beetles are natural. Global warming is up in the air, we don't have any conclusive evidence either way (or else the debate would be over)...

As I said earlier tho, nice footage.

[Wolfboy2712]

Pine beetles were mistakenly brought to Canada, while actually being native to I think Europe. I could be wrong, and it may be Asia.

[EcksAddikMcAddik]

Damn... that's pretty nasty out there. Hope you and Cindy are staying safe at this time.

[Mikemugee]

I live up there right in lower glenrosa where that lil store is near GMS.... Hope it dosent brun down my moms house !!!

[goldenjabba]

West Kelowna, Glenrosa, Rose Valley, And Behind Terrace mountain are all the fires. Glenrosa is now 300 hectares. Terrifying. Good luck to our firefighters, and I hope we can fight these blazes. Last night, the terrace mountain fire's smoke blocked out the sun, and the whole valley looked red from my place. Looked kinda post-apocolyptic. Thanks for the footage :D

[dyxiedyxie]

Good video.!!Tthank you FOR THE INSIGHT! My home town!

[zeppy13131]

How about asking Jesus to put out the fire? Wouldn't that be a bit more constructive at this point?

[goldenjabba]

I don't think jesus has a fire hose, or a fire truck. Or maybe he does. Who knows?

[joanflisher]

my prayers go out to the people that live in this area ,,,,,, jesus wants your heart more than your matreial goods, jesus wants your hearts not your money or goods jesus saves for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son whosoever beleive in him shall not perish but have everlasting life john 3 ``16

[cmgale]

Thanks for the video. I live in Penticton and have a friend staying who had to return to Revelstoke today so this allowed us to show her the alternate route on the 201 forrest service instead. My friend also said because it is dry up there visibility is poor at times from the dust on the road. Thanks again for the video. The most important thing is to be informed so that we can take alternate routes and stay out of the way of emergency crews allowing them to concentrate on their job.

[nobelsweet]

"...People act surprised"? WTF? What people are you talking too that act surprised when presented with the notion that dry conditions can be condusive to fire... small retarded children? There are people right now, including my family whom live in that area, that don't appreciate being condescended too. You wanna play reporter JVC dude than I suggest you report the facts and not your feelings on how stupid you think others are compared to you and Cindy.

[housesing]

Woke up to ashes on my car and I live in Kelowna. I have a hard time to breath so I can't imagine how you guys are feeling on the other side of the lake, sorry you are going through this. I hope they put it out soon and no more homes get burned down. Good luck and thanks for the footage.

[mongo133]

westbank is where i live and i live where i can see all the flames

[ebaytix33]

this guy needs laid.

[arnebc]

They changed the name a few years ago to West Kelowna....j@ck@ss

[tenspot10]

You can thank PAT BELL and the functionaries in the Ministry of Forests that wouldn't renew the contract wit the Coulson group to keep the Mars water bombers here in BC to save a few bucks. They went to California. The fires would have been out by last night if the mars were here, where they should be. IDIOTS>

[brettmineer]

Hey moron...the Mars would not have stopped the fire last night.

Yes the Mars carried ALOT of water...but, the problem with them was that when fully loaded, they had a horrible climb rate.

They were ideal for fires that were BELOW the water source...not what you have in Kelowna.

A spokesperson from Kamloops Fire Centre where they run the smaller Firecats out of told me in the same time it takes the Mars to fly 1 sortie, the helicopters can complete 3, and the Grumman Firecats 2.

[tenspot10]

Moron yerself, brettmineer. The spokesperson is biased of course, possibly connected or paid by the Govt or the companies who own the smaller planes. 1 pass of the Mars would deliver one million liters, 265,000 US Gallons, 37 consecutive drops in 5.9 hours of water and fire retardant. And the total amount carried by the combined smaller planes is.....?

You trust Spokespersons? Spin doctors. You must either work for the government, or be a patient in one of their facilities.

[brettmineer]

I don't work in government or for any of the "owners of smaller planes".

The ones out of the Kamloops Fire Centre are mostly assets owned by the taxpayer.

Another problem with the Mars is that it dropped water, and not as accurately as smaller aircraft.

Water is only half as effective as the red phoschek retardant, which actually changes the chemical composition of the surface of the wood it is dropped on.

[Tronzoid]

I work for phos-chek, and it is extremely effective.

[brettmineer]

I used the title "spokesperson" because it was shorter than their real title of Fire Information Officer, who works in a civil service role, merely as a liason between those on the front line, and those in the media.

While they are not perfect, I have worked in the business long enough to be able to sniff out laypeople's whining from a real story.

The FIO's know what they are talking about...you do not.

[brettmineer]

37 drops in 6 hours? Whoopdidoo. The combined use of heli's, Convairs or the smaller firecats and 802 F's can deliver more retardant in 1 hour than the Mars could, and place it in tighter areas, more accurately than the Mars.

I am a reporter, we looked into this in previous fires where the Mars was not called in and those like youself were screaming about it. They were not ideal for central BC...hence the reason they were stationed on the coast.

[Tronzoid]

Good point. I was one of the operators at a retardant dip site for the recent Lillooet fire, and we would have at least 6 heli's dipping non stop from 8am until 8pm. In total it must have been at least 200 drops with from 700 gallon buckets.

[zombiefalldown]

omg i live in lower glenrosa we saw the fire across the street and structure that where catching fire trying to get out it was like hell on earth ppl were in panic and didnt know wat to do

[carlorider]

incredible, you stop on the side of the highway to take video when people are trying to evac, use you brain stay away, do not bloc trafic. whoopty doo, you got a video, you should be ashamed

[Givemeafinname]

That whole area is a fire zone always has been. the good thing about the fire is it may help with the pine beetle. The bad thing about it? well we already know how bad it is.

Anyone know how it started? I have family in Vernon glad they're not in kelowna .

Good luck Okanagan residence from a Vancouver Island Resident I'm sure we'll send you the Martin Mars soon.

[ellonysman]

Glenrosa fire that just started a few days ago caught on video by this guys eye account. Glad we left earlier in the week!

[Nofur]

I was in vernon last week was in kelowna a few day's and yeah it was hot and the ground dryer than hell... not like Ontario hope all safe

[ScriptSupervisorSand]

I don't think ANYONE who lives here is surprised. That's a stupid thing to say. Since the fire of '03 everyone has lived in dread of it happening to them. So to say they are surprised is very condescending of you.

[JCVdude]

We are not surprised, we have stated that for a number of reasons this type of fire was inevitable. One month ago we drove up to Bear Lake..see video and stated how dangerous the situation was. More will follow from us regarding this.

[Goldberg0019]

After watching this I'm wondering if any precautions were taken to ensure this didn't happen again at this level? I think what he was saying Sand is that alot of those trees could've been removed that were dead and dried out which isn't really condescending but more actual fact. Good job JCV....very well presented

[djxiii]

I'm right with you on this one Sand. Love the video footage. Genuinely appreciate it and the night shots that were posted later. BUT, the tone of the voiceover and the statement at 3:18 put my teeth on edge. Who exactly is acting surprised?

[ZootsiePop]

This is scary. I don't live there anymore, but it's still my home town, and Im supposed to go visit tommorow. I can't stop thinking of how Westbank Is gonna recover when it's all over.

[SquallXandir]

There is fire just across my street ... its preety scary ...i can see it soo close .. ! and rose valley fire is very srong too .. over 30 hectare's

!

[kelownarealman]

dont ban backcountry travel. thats ridiculous. its a free country and natrure is part of it. all these trees need to burn. just stop building houses in the bush.

[jeepin99999]

Good job,

300 hectares now.

No surprise for me considering how dry it's been and how much beetle kill there is. I regret to say this is just the start too. I can't understand why they haven't banned camp fires given the conditions. Remember 2003 they banned backcountry travel, maybe it's time for the same restrictions again. I hear this was likely caused by heavy equipment in a logging operation. They put a fire out in the same place where this one started on Thursday apparently.

[forestlock]

sorry to hear that happend. :(