Local Community Advertising
(UPDATE: Aug 4 @ 4:00 pm) - West Kelowna Fire Rescue have provided further details regarding an aggressive house fire in Rose Valley on Thursday.
Upon arrival, crews were met with heavy volumes of flames and smoke exiting the backside of the house and extending to the neighbouring home to the east.
The neighbouring home only received minor smoke damage, however, a small grass fire was also ignited in the back portion of the property, which crews were able to knockdown before it could spread.
Fortunately, no one was home at the time of the blaze and the home is insured as damage to the home was extensive.
Fire investigators have deemed the fire accidental, but have yet to determine an exact cause.
(UPDATE: Aug 4 @ 2:30 pm) - An explosive fire tore through a West Kelowna home Thursday morning.
Nobody was home when the fire was first spotted at about 10:30 am.
It's believed to have started on the rear deck of the home, but the West Kelowna Fire Department has yet to pinpoint a cause.
Assistant Fire Chief Chad Gartrell said the described the fire as "advanced" by the time crews arrived.
"It was pushing into the second floor and we also had extension into the house beside it that we were concerned about," said Gartrell.
"It was stretching from the house involved up into the eaves of the house beside it."
An additional concern was that a brush fire was starting to take shape as well.
"The radiant heat had started little bits of the duff in the back yard on fire so the crews, head on a swivel, were able to knock that down with the hose lines there," he explained.
Damage to the house is described as extensive.
"The fire got into the attic space from the back of the house and has gone across the entire top floor."
(Original story: Aug 4 @ 11:07 am): Witnesses are reporting a large house fire on Sunview Drive in West Kelowna's Rose Valley area.
Around 10:45 am on Thursday morning, a neighbouring house captured footage of the blaze with fire trucks already on site.
Emergency crews are on the scene of a housefire in the #RoseValley area of #WestKelowna, right near Moonbeam Park. pic.twitter.com/kGqOTNCAMz
— KelownaNow.com (@KelownaNow) August 6, 2020
More footage of the fire, which crews seem to have a handle on. #RoseValley #WestKelowna pic.twitter.com/CNxdDgWaC4
— KelownaNow.com (@KelownaNow) August 6, 2020
— KelownaNow.com (@KelownaNow) August 6, 2020
Plumes of black smoke could be seen from across the bridge in a similar area as the Rose Valley Dam wildfire.
However, that blaze has been classed as "held" since Tuesday, Aug. 4.
KelownaNow has reached out to the West Kelowna Fire Department for more information and will update this story.
Local Community Advertising