What to do with retardant

Dozens of former evacuees met in Winfield Thursday night, to learn about their next steps moving on from the devastating Okanagan Centre wildfire and to learn about the red fire retardant that covers many of their properties.

The fire began July 15 and quickly tore up the hill from Okanagan Lake, eventually destroying eight homes and one garage, and evacuating dozens of properties.

Those in the last 58 properties that remained evacuated returned home Wednesday. Many found their properties covered in the red fire retardant that had been dropped near the fire to help prevent its spread.

Don MacKay, with ICL Performance Products, the maker of the retardant, assured the former evacuees that the red liquid, which has been used for 30 years, would not impact their health.

“There's virtually no harm that would come to aquatic life, wildlife, pets or people,” MacKay said.

He said any fruit or vegetables that had been doused by the retardant could be washed and eaten without any health concerns.

Additionally, MacKay said that it could be washed off most surfaces using soap and water, but it would depend on the type of surface.

Lake Country Fire Chief Steve Windsor told the residents they were still dealing with hot spots and flare-ups from the fire, but they have things under control.

“A lot of people are pretty nervous in the community so they see these (flare-ups) and phone it in, which is the right thing to do, and we go out and deal with them,” Windsor said. “Slowly over the next two weeks, the number will diminish considerably.”

Following the talks from MacKay and Windsor, one man expressed his thanks to the firefighters for their efforts in saving many of their homes, and the rest of the audience followed with a round of applause.

“It's a nice feeling that they appreciate what the guys are trying to do,” Windsor said afterwards.