Illegal, unattended burn pile gets out of control near Kelowna Airport

NOTE TO RESIDENTS AND VISITORS: OPEN BURNING NOT ALLOWED

ELLISON – A deputy fire chief says a potential “major disaster” was averted by firefighters today after an Ellison man’s unattended burn pile got out of control.

Ellison Fire Department deputy chief Ross Anderson says a neighbour phoned the fire department when they saw smoke in their Postill Lake neighbourhood today, May 10.

Almost a dozen members were called around 2 p.m. to 5820 Farmers Drive, a secluded property surrounded by forest with only one road in and out.

“(The resident) had been burning in his back yard when there’s a burning ban on,” Anderson says. “I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

Anderson says no one was on the property when firefighters arrived.

“It could have been very dangerous,” Anderson says.

He says the brush had been burning in several spots over the past couple days.

Without a valid permit, open burning is strictly forbidden in the Central Okanagan Regional District between April 30 and October 1.

The resident could face a fine up to $2,000.

Visit the CORD website for information, permits or to report a burn.

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