VANCOUVER – An evacuation order issued more than a week after a fatal crane collapse in Kelowna, BC has been lifted.
In a press release on Tuesday, the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said the engineering work to remove parts of the crane at the downtown construction site has been completed and people can now safely return to 20 addresses previously covered by the order.
A full list of addresses can be found below.
The following day, officials said the order and the associated local state of emergency had both been lifted.
Officials said the civil engineer and utility companies have also completed their inspections of the area.
The evacuation order was issued on July 12 after the boom of a crane under dismantling crashed into the buildings below from several floors above them.
Four men who worked at the Brooklyn Tower site died either on the scene or in the hospital, and a fifth man who worked in a nearby building was also killed.
The deceased have been identified through online fundraisers as Cailen Vilness, Patrick Stemmer, Eric Stemmer, Jared Zook, and Brad Zawislak.
At the weekend there was a vigil in honor of the deceased.
It is not yet known what caused the collapse, and both the local RCMP division and WorksafeBC, the provincial workers’ compensation agency, are investigating.
The following addresses are no longer under evacuation orders:
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1450 Bertramst.
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1464 Bertramst.
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1468 Bertram St.
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1476 Bertram St.
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1488 Bertram St.
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1441 St.-Paul-St.
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100, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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101, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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105, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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106, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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200, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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200A, 1449 St. Paul St.
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201, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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202, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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203, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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203A, 1449 St. Paul St.
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204, 1449 St.-Paul-St.
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204A, 1449 St. Paul St.
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100, 1461 St. Paul St.
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200, 1461 St.-Paul-St.
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1471 St.-Paul-St.
Although the eviction order was lifted, residents of the building at Bertram Str. 1450 may only be admitted on Thursday noon.
This should allow the restoration work to be completed, Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said in a statement.
Electricity and gas were turned off during the collapse and the days that followed, but both have since been restored to all properties except 1449 St. Paul St., which is still gasless.
“This building was physically affected by the crane collapse and is being subjected to a structural inspection by the client and will remain closed at this time,” the statement said.
