Black Press Media is looking back at some of the top stories and videos of the past year in the Okanagan, Shuswap and Similkameen.
Another season of terrible wildfires placed at number one in the top 10 video countdown.
For the second year in a row, forest fires ravaged B.C. causing record-setting damage.
From April 1, 2018 until December, wildfires burned more than 1.3 million hectares. A good chunk of which was in the Kamloops Fire Centre where 428 fires burned more than 54,000 hectares.
The Penticton Fire Zone accounted for nearly half of the hectares burned in our region with almost 25,000 hectares burned by 106 fires. The worst of those fires all began the evening of July 17, 2018 when a dry lightning storm came through the region igniting fires up and down the Interior.
The largest fire, the Snowy Mountain fire south of Keremeos, was discovered on July 17 and grew to 19,226 hectares in size leaving nearby residents scared for their homes.
That same night, the Mt. Eneas fire south of Peachland was discovered and rapidly grew to 1,790 hectares in size. That fire resulted in highway closures as flames crossed the road, as well as the destruction of several outbuildings.
The same evening, the Goode’s Creek fire in Okanagan Mountain Park ignited, burning 1,370 hectares. A fire that glowed in the hills at the same place as the 2003 wildfire.
July 17th also saw the Mount Conkle fire near Summerland ignite, growing to just118 hectares the relatively smaller fire still forced evacuations and ignited fear among nearby residents.
B.C.’s wildfire suppression costs for 2018 have totalled approximately $468 million.
READ MORE: B.C. Wildfires 2018: Province calls for federal aid
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