VIDEO: FireSmart actions helped save West Kelowna community from fire
Published 5:00 am Saturday, June 20, 2026
Kalamoir Regional Park is closed after a wildfire sparked inside the park in West Kelowna on June 16, 2026 and forced tactical evacuations. All evacuation orders and alerts were lifted as of June 18, 2026 and the fire is under control. (Brittany Webster/Black Press)
No homes were lost after a fast spreading fire sparked in West Kelowna the morning of June 16.
The blaze is under control and evacuation orders and alerts were all lifted as of June 18. The Kalamoir Park fire has since been determined to be human caused, likely by an abandoned campfire in Kalamoir Regional Park not being fully extinguished.
The communities of Casa Loma and Lakeview Heights were tactically evacuated shortly after the fire started. Casa Loma resident and FireSmart BC advocate John Martin said his community fought for a secondary egress in case of emergencies, and it proved its worth when used in reverse to evacuate Lakeview Heights.
“I didn’t hear of any situations that could have caused some difficulties,” Martin said.
The Kalamoir Park wildfire touched the edge of Casa Loma Resort and several properties in both communities are covered in red fire retardant as the blaze came within inches of homes. Martin attributes the saving of structures to the quick action of firefighters, immediate air support, and the work community members have done to make Casa Loma a FireSmart community.
“The fire only went across the grass and then it kind of stopped,” Martin explained to Black Press while standing at the end of Benedick Road and the trailhead of Kalamoir Regional Park.
“If it doesn’t have a lot of fuel, which it didn’t have in this little location – other than those cedar trees,” Martin said pointing to a handful of cedars on the trail’s edge, “it has a tendency of not travelling that fast.”
Casa Loma is a @BCFireSmart neighbourhood. Local advocate John Martin spoke with @BlackPressMedia about how that aided in saving the West Kelowna community when a #wildfire sparked June 16 – @WestKelownaNews @KelownaCapNews pic.twitter.com/E7YvcV3FuM
— Brittany Webster (@thebrittwebster) June 20, 2026
In addition, falling embers into the community didn’t catch anything as people in the community have been conscious to put in FireSmart plants through Martin’s advocacy work.
Although the meeting was planned ahead of the fire starting, Casa Loma residents and anyone else interested are invited to a FireSmart meeting at Dupuis Park on June 27. Martin will be meeting with the community at 10 a.m. to talk more about the evacuation routes and the importance of being FireSmart.
The wildfire reached 9.4 hectares in size before it was classified as under control.
