Message from the Mayor

Welcome to all our American friends and property owners! After nearly 17 months, we are looking forward to meeting and greeting our friends from south of the border, so much has happened since Covid 19 changed our lives. As of mid-September, other international guests and Sun Peaks property owners will be able to arrive although the present Covid situation in Australia looks somewhat perilous. Hopefully that situation changes prior to the first snows.

The recent Embleton fire appears to be behind us although other wildfires to west and south are still very active. Many thanks to the volunteers in Sun Peaks Fire and Rescue, your actions, and the commitments of a number of Fire Departments from around the Province turned what could have been a very dangerous situation into a dramatic event especially for the residents in Whitecroft. Well done everyone, no homes lost, and everyone is settled back in.

We recently accommodated some 150 people from the North Okanagan who were driven out by the White Rock Lake fire. We all need to recognize the efforts of Colin Brost at TSP who received the first call for help on a Friday evening requesting rooms and food outlets for 500 people arriving from the Vernon area. Colin worked tirelessly on getting our teams organized, in the end only 140 people arrived in the early morning hours. Many thanks to the staff at Cahilty Lodge, the Grand Hotel and the Food and Beverage outlets, you all stepped up and made the evacuees feel very comfortable. As they were leaving, I heard the same message over and over again: “If we are ever evacuated again, I will ask to be sent to Sun Peaks, you all made us feel so welcome.”

We would like to welcome Shane Bourke and wife Robin as well as their children to Sun Peaks. The Bourke family arrived in August and Shane is already busy with his duties as Chief Administrative Officer at the Municipality. When you have the opportunity, please introduce yourself to the Bourke family and have them experience our special Sun Peaks welcome.

Let’s hope that the forecasted mid-August rains materialize, and we can enjoy a somewhat normal rest of the summer. We are on a water conservation level 4 restriction, so please reduce all non-essential water use until this drought situation changes. Also, full caution when in the forests, parking of cars in tall grass, off-road activities, smoking activities and construction activities as all have some levels of risks, so please pay attention.

It has been a tough 18 months and we all deserve a more normal Fall and Winter period; winter is not too far away.

Al Raine, Mayor