Shifting wind patterns are keeping communities on edge in British Columbia’s southern Okanagan, where an out-of-control wildfire forced the evacuation of the village of Olalla and residents of nearby Keremeos were told to prepare to leave.
Winds in the area are known for their unpredictability, which has firefighters and emergency officials preparing for the worst, Tim Roberts, the area’s elected regional director, said Friday.
“We are always under the risk of Mother Nature, so it’s always good to be preventive, prepared for the worst and hope for the best,” he said in an interview.
He said the Indigenous name for Keremeos was “valley of the three winds, so you can tell, winds change hourly.”…