A normally dark stretch of Westside Road suddenly lit up Tuesday night, not from street lights, but from a flash of multi-colored sparks released from a moving car.
Dina Johansen was driving when it happened and watched it all happen from the rearview mirror.
“I was in shock. My heart was pounding,” she said. “I pulled the tire. I was very grateful that I wasn't on one of the very narrow sections of Westside Road.”
Amazed by what she saw, Johansen stopped to check for fire.
“I thought there was going to be a fire,” she recalls. “I just had this weird feeling that something bad was going to happen because of this.”
A few hours later, a grass fire was spotted near Bear Creek Provincial Park, in the same area where Johansen saw the fireworks. Although fire officials have not officially linked the fire to the incident, the timing and location of the incident have raised concerns.
“We responded with other regional fire departments in support of wildfire services to contain the rapidly growing wildfire,” West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said.
The fire has now been extinguished, but it is believed that it was caused by a person.
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“Fire season is almost over,” he said, “but to see someone so careless, so little concern for their safety and the safety of others, is very upsetting.”
Fireworks have already caused problems in West Kelowna this year. In the summer, their use was associated with two fires that broke out in one day.
“We just don’t need it,” Brolund said. “We need everyone to do their part, and that includes, quite frankly, not being stupid.”
With Halloween just around the corner, Brolund hopes the public will take this warning seriously.
“The misuse of fireworks is dangerous,” he said. “Fireworks are illegal to sell in the Central Okanagan. They cannot be used without a permit.”
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