Businesses near Lakeshore Road are preparing for the worst while simultaneously running business as usual.
With the Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire growing steadily to 400 hectares, along with a evacuation notice wineries and a boutique dairy farm are working quickly to store equipment and maneuver irrigation systems.
Carmeli乌鸦传媒檚 Goat Cheese farm is taking precautions and has already found somewhere for their goats to stay in case of evacuation.
RELATED: Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire now an estimated 400 hectares
乌鸦传媒淲e are doing well here, obviously there is a little bit of anxiety乌鸦传媒� we don乌鸦传媒檛 know what is going on or what is going to happen, but as of right now we are business as usual here,乌鸦传媒� Thomas Carmeli said.
During the 2003 fire Thomas乌鸦传媒� parents were running the business and the farm was damaged on the hillside. Carmeli noted he does not think the fire will harm the farm like it did 15 years ago.
乌鸦传媒淵ou can still see the damage from the 2003 fire, we don乌鸦传媒檛 have a lot of new growth, just rock and the old burned trees, so it乌鸦传媒檚 not a lot of fuel.乌鸦传媒�
CedarCreek Estate Winery has closed while B.C. Wildfire continues to work toward controlling the fire line.
RELATED: Updated: Complete list of B.C. Interior wildfire coverage
乌鸦传媒淲e decided to shut down because we feel it乌鸦传媒檚 hard to taste wine when there is smoke in the air and Lakeshore Road has a sign that states 乌鸦传媒渓ocal traffic only.乌鸦传媒澪谘淮綕 Taylor Whelan, wine maker at CedarCreek said.
The winery is monitoring the fire closely and is taking preventative measures to protect the vineyard from the blaze.
乌鸦传媒淚 am not too nervous, I have full faith in the fire service,乌鸦传媒� Whelan said.
Summerhill Pyramid Winery is clearing out the two fire-proof buildings on the property to make room for farm equipment they may have to store in there in case the fire extends onto their property.
乌鸦传媒淲e are being cautious, preparing for potential evacuation and getting the property in order,乌鸦传媒� Ezra Cipes, CEO said. 乌鸦传媒淲e are prepared, but not scared.乌鸦传媒�
The winery is still open and operating at full capacity through the fires, however guests did not sit on the patio while dining during lunch in the restaurant due to the smoke.
St Hubertus & Oak Bay Estate Winery Ltd. is cautious after experiencing extensive damage from the 2003 fires.
乌鸦传媒淭his fire started at the same place as it did in 2003, we are concerned because we were seriously impacted by those fires,乌鸦传媒� Leo Gebert said. 乌鸦传媒淎ny smoke from the valley乌鸦传媒攜ou can feel the way people get nervous.乌鸦传媒�
RELATED: Flicked cigarette butt sparks small fire
The winery has no plans on closing its doors to guests until required to, in 2003 the building was open an hour before being told they needed to evacuate.
乌鸦传媒淲e are lucky, where we are we have two roads we can leave by, Lakeshore Road and Stella Drive, other places further down only have Lakeshore,乌鸦传媒� Gebert said.
This year Gebert feels confident that the same damage will not reoccur due to their older irrigation system that covers a larger surface space.
For updates on all wildfires in the Okanagan visit our updated list of all fires in the area.
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