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An evacuation order issued late Friday evening for many residents on the Osoyoos Indian Band, which includes all residents who live in the Osoyoos Cottages on the Lake subdivision, was extended to residents in the Sportsman’s Bowl Road area of rural Oliver Saturday morning.
Late Friday evening, the Osoyoos Indian Band issued an evacuation order to close to 200 residents on Nk’Mip Road and all residents of the Osoyoos Cottages on the Lake, which is located on OIB land on the north end of Osoyoos Lake. The order was put in place due to the potential of a landslide near Inkameep Creek, said Rob Graham, public relations officer for the Oliver Fire Department.
The evacuation order includes all houses south of Water Dog Lake, a large section of Nk’Mip Road and every residence in the Osoyoos Cottage on the Lake subdivision on Radio Tower Road, said Graham.
A group of close to 20 volunteer firefighters with his department were involved in an evacuation order early Saturday morning for residents who live on and near Sportsman’s Bowl Road after the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) made the call to evacuate residents as waters continued to rise, said Graham.
“The area around Sportsman’s Bowl Road and Secrest Hill Road is now being evacuated … the call came about 7:30 this morning,” said Graham. “Because of the state of the road and rising waters, we could no longer get our emergency vehicles into that area and most local residents could no longer get their vehicles in and out of the area.”
Late Friday evening, the Oliver Fire Department’s Facebook page posted a public notice stating, “there has been an immediate evacuation order issued by Osoyoos Indian Band Chief and Council for all houses south of Water Dog Lake (Mickey’s Lake) on NK’Mip Road (3143 - 2711) and including the Osoyoos Cottages.
“The Oliver Fire Department is being dispatched to assist with delivery of the order to homes affected.”
On Saturday morning, the Facebook page said the evacuation centre at the Oliver Legion will be closing at 10 a.m. Saturday, however, the Osoyoos Indian Band Community Hall would be open for those affected by the Inkameep Creek evacuation order.
Volunteer members with the Osoyoos Fire Department were involved in assisting with the evacuation order Friday evening at the Osoyoos Cottage on the Lake subdivision, said Graham.
The creek located on the hills above Osoyoos Cottages on the Lake had backed up due to an accumulation of debris and there were concerns for a potential landslide coming down the hill towards properties in the subdivision, said Graham.
Under an evacuation order, residents are urged to leave their residences as quickly as possible, he said.
As of 8:15 Saturday morning, Graham said no further evacuation orders had been issued in the Oliver area.
Residents are advised to leave the area immediately and stay with family or friends, or register at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 97 located at 36217 Highway 97 in Oliver.
Anyone needing assistance with transportation in the evacuation area was asked to call 250-498-7898.
The Oliver Fire Department has a large crew of volunteers at the fire hall. The fire hall can be reached at 250-498-3332.
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