Containment and clean up efforts are underway in connection with the spill of hazardous chemicals earlier today into Mill Creek.

Work crews will be removing contained hazardous materials collected at the site of last night’s fire on Kirschner Road, the source of the contaminants. Crews will also work through the night to vacuum materials collected in the storm drain system in the 18 hundred block Lindahl Street.

In the interest of public safety and health the restriction on swimming at the mouth of Mill Creek and Okanagan Lake and in the waters off Hot Sands Beach to the north in City Park remains in effect until further notice. Pet owners should also keep their animals out of the creek and these two swimming areas along Okanagan Lake. Earlier today some of the chemical mixture made its way into Okanagan Lake from Mill Creek and was monitored as moving to the north. For this reason, the Medical Health Officer advises people to avoid contact with this contaminated water because it could result in skin and eye irritation and respiratory issues.

The beach near the mouth of Mill Creek and the pedestrian footbridge over the creek to the south of City Park remain closed. As well, patrols will continue keeping people away from the creek and Hot Sands Beach. Boaters are also asked to stay out of these immediate areas of Okanagan Lake.

Monitoring and sampling of creek and Okanagan Lake water will be ongoing over the next several days.

No evacuation alerts or orders have been issued in connection with this spill.

About 7:30 this morning, it was reported that the pesticides, nitrates (fertilizers) and glycol mixture entered Mill Creek from the storm drain system upstream near Lindahl Street (between Springfield Road and Sutherland Avenue) in connection with the fire fighting effort last night at the Stewart Centre on Kirschner Road. This drain has now been closed and the creek upstream has been temporarily diverted to Mission Creek. A sand delta near the mouth of Mill Creek and Okanagan Lake is helping to control and contain the flow of contaminants into the lake.

Any future updated Public information about the situation will be available on the City of Kelowna web site at www.kelowna.ca.