It's the time of year when people start to bring their RVs back to life, but it led to disaster on Shannon Woods Crescent.
Fire crews got the call at around 9 am, but before they could contain the blaze, it had spread into the homes on both sides.
The travel trailer itself is almost completely consumed by the fire, and both houses suffered extensive damage.
"It's significant," said West Kelowna Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Lionel Batemen, when asked about the severity of the damage.
"The fire went up into the eves and into the attic space," he said. "Smoke damage up in the attic space. The attics are all compromised and smoke damage all throughout the house."
There seems little doubt that the travel trailer is to blame.
"It sounded like maybe the furnace had been started on the trailer. Just getting it ready for the camping season, the initial investigation is on that. Nothing is confirmed at this point," said Bateman.
The trailer fire is puzzling because it's fairly new.
Assistant Chief Batement described it as an anomaly.
Still, there could be a lesson in this for owners of travel trailers.
"It's a good idea to keep an eye on it when you start it up," Bateman suggested. "You know, stay with it and don't let it run when you're not there, I guess."
The good news is that everyone got out with no injuries, including pets.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
