A heavy dump of snow around the South Okanagan yesterday inundated first responders with calls.
Fire departments around the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) responded to 29 calls yesterday, spread between 8:30 a.m. and 4:17 a.m. this morning.
The Penticton Fire Department received the most callouts at 14, followed by three in Summerland, three in Okanagan Falls, three in Kaleden, three in Naramata, one in Osoyoos, one in Anarchist, one in Oliver.
Despite the larege number of calls, Penticton RCMP this morning reported no serious injuries had occurred.
Penticton deputy chief Chris Forster attributed the spike in callouts to the weather. Generally on days like this, fire departments are called out to assist with ensuring the scene is safe.
“Most don’t end up with injuries, but you of course now have (with) the weather, everything’s slippery, so there’s a chance of people sliding or having to slam their brakes on because they’re coming into the scene too fast,” he said.
Forster added bad weather and vehicle incidents go hand in hand.
“We can go three or four weeks where there’s a little bit of snow but it melts the next day,” he added. “We’ll have our typical one or two, then all of a sudden there’s this big dump of snow and next thing you know you’ve got six calls.”
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