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91ƵBiggest encampment clean up ever seen91Ƶ found near Okanagan Falls

Camp full of travel trailers, cars, motorhomes, metal, garbage, and hidden underground locations

The Okanagan Forest Task Force (OFTF) is set to tackle what it says is the biggest encampment cleanup it has ever undertaken.

President Kane Blake and other members toured the site near Okanagan Falls on Sunday, Nov. 12.

91ƵThe camp is full of travel trailers, cars, motorhomes, metal, tons and tons of garbage, and even hidden underground locations,91Ƶ Blake said.

Pictures posted to the OFTF website show a second mess, believed to have been left by the same people, a few kilometres up the road.

It consists of burnt vehicles, garbage, and a cage with a sign that says 91Ƶwarning rattlesnakes.91Ƶ

It91Ƶs also believed that the presence of these camps has led to multiple fires in the bush.

91ƵThis is not the first encampment we have been to where a brush or a wildfire was started,91Ƶ Blake said. 91ƵSadly, this is the risk we take by letting these camps stay and something needs to change.91Ƶ

Blake added that residents in the area have had enough.

91ƵAfter nearly four years the mess has gotten out of hand. It91Ƶs now one of our main priorities for the spring and is going to take a lot of planning.91Ƶ

Since Sep. 2016, the OFTF has cleaned up more than 815,000 pounds of garbage from the Okanagan backcountry.

91ƵWe are sadly on track to hit over one million pounds by next summer,91Ƶ Blake said. 91ƵWithout all the members, community support, and partnered businesses like ABC Recycling and Norval rentals none of this would be possible.91Ƶ

READ MORE: Encampment cleaned up near Lake Country

READ MORE: Vernon frustrated with 91Ƶdisgusting91Ƶ conditions of encampment



Gary Barnes

About the Author: Gary Barnes

Journalist and broadcaster for three decades.
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