Eric Grootendorst News Today

(Editors note: This story concludes The Daily Couriers countdown of the Top Five News Stories for the Central Okanagan in 2023. The other four were: Tiny homes coming for homeless;

Rescue crews from across the country were in the Penticton this week for heavy urban search and rescue training.

Fresh off a real deployment to the B.C. Southern Interior, members of a top Canadian search-and-rescue team are in Penticton this week for training.

“The exercise will simulate a provincial response to an extreme weather event where multiple technical rescues are required,” said the city.

The Vancouver-based disaster response team Canada Task Force 1 has completed 1,506 rapid damage assessments in the wildfire-ravaged West Kelowna and North Shuswap areas, allowing residents to find out if their homes are safe to return to.

The erratic devastation caused by wildfires that spread into neighbourhoods is on full display as evacuees return to their homes in West Kelowna and rural areas north of the city.

The erratic devastation caused by wildfires that spread into neighbourhoods is on full display as evacuees return to their homes in West Kelowna and rural areas north of the city.

People living on the South Coast are frequently reminded to be prepared for a major earthquake – and when the big one does hit, members of the heavy urban search and rescue team will be among the first to respond.