MASSIVE EVACUATION: At least 10,000 people have been evacuated as of 10:30pm Thursday in the city of Kelowna. An alert has also been issued for the entire area South of Mission Creek. The raging forest fire has jumped a fire guard and prompted officials to give immediate evacuation notice to the entire upper Mission area. This includes South Lakeshore Drive, Chute Lake Road, Kettle Valley, Bellevue Creek area, Crawford Estates and as far as Gallaghers Canyon. There are at least 15 homes that have been lost as of Friday morning. City firefighters had to abandon some homes south of Kettle Valley because the inferno was too fierce. The fire has grown to over 17,000 hectares and it has pushed North aggressively along the city boundary, hovering around thousands of homes. The evening imagery was so dramatic, pictures do not do it justice. I watched the evacuation from the Police roadblock on Lakeshore Drive. Thousands of people streamed out of the area with whatever possessions they could fit into their vehicles. The situation was so tense I became overwhelmed with the sight of evacuee's leaving behind their lives and not knowing if they could ever return home.

Intense smoke and ash fell from the sky all day Thursday. It was another hot and dry Summer day but beaches were empty. Some people who were brave enough to venture out into the moonscape like environment were seen wearing breathing masks. Evening winds cleared the southern part of the valley of it's dense smoke cloud and revealed the overwhelming blaze threatening our city.

If you think you have friends or loved ones in the evacuation area you can call 1-888-350-6070 to check on their status.