2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire

File:Southeastern Extent of Rattlesnake Island, looking north.JPG

Fire damage visible in background of Rattlesnake Island

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. 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 (Template:Cvt). 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.

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

External links

• Photographs of housing sites a few weeks after the fire, in September and October, 2003. Dr. Denis Wall Copyright.
• – 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)