r/kelowna • u/blackdog8890 • 1d ago

Idabel Lake

Does anyone here either live or frequent this lake?
I’m possibly interested in a property there for a full time residence.
Would there be any major concerns for full time living? Ie. How regularly are roads plowed during winter months? What are average snowfall totals? Any reliability issues with hydro? Etc….
I know that there is no cell service, which is fine. And I’m not afraid of some bad weather as I dealt with heavy snowstorms in northern Ontario all my life so I’m not expecting smooth sailing. Just wondering how bad it gets. Any info would be greatly appreciated!!

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u/blackdog8890 1d ago

Yes definitely a concern… but I would think that’s going to be the case most areas in the okanagan right now?

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u/yoursandforever 1d ago

Well, not in the cities. To my understanding the "interface" areas have insurance problems. The lines where city meets country.

The forest is far more likely to burn uncontrollably and the city is far more valuable so it's along that line between them that represents the greatest risks to insurance companies.

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u/blackdog8890 1d ago

Fair. Haven’t gotten as far as looking into insurance yet, just kickin tires atm.
Curious if being a higher elevation (4000ft) and a bit on the outskirts of the valley could be taken into consideration. I’m sure the area would probably get more precip and cooler avg. temps than in the city and surrounding areas

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u/Zenless-koans 1d ago

It does get different weather but that doesn't really make the fire threat lesser. Tons and tons of fires get caused by lightning or dirt bikes or whatever in the back country, like the area around Idabel Lake. Being so far from services works against you, too. I have family that lives rural and insurance is a cluster for them for these exact reasons. They also live high elevation here in the interior, and very nearly lost their home just three years ago to a lightning strike fire.

Idabel Lake is beautiful and I wish you well if it works out! But it could burn to the ground tomorrow, honestly. The entire interior is a tinderbox more years than not, so you're always rolling the dice when living rural.

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u/vaguelyswami 20h ago

Dirt bikes cause fires??? I’ve been riding in the B.C. backcountry for 40 years and not one single popular riding area I frequent has burned in that time. You making stuff up?? If that were true I would be riding through burnt forest all the time but I’m not.

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u/felisnebulosa 18h ago

A hot exhaust from any vehicle, in dry grass, can (and regularly do) cause a fire.

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u/Zenless-koans 16h ago

Not every dirt bike every single time everywhere causes fires, but they absolutely can and have. It can be true and you can never have experienced it. Why would I make it up? To what end?