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UPDATE: Beloved Winfield Bakery erupts in flames in Okanagan

GoFundMe started by previous bakery owner following fire in town near Kelowna

UPDATE: 11:30 p.m.

RCMP and fire officials are investigating the blaze that destroyed much of the Winfield Bakery, Thursday night.

According to the Lake Country Fire Department the blaze appears to be accidental in nature, although the cause is not yet known.

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Reports of flames bursting from the front entrance of the iconic Winfield Bakery were reported to the Lake Country Fire Department at about 6:20 p.m, Thursday (March 10).

According to Dept. Fire Chief Brent Penner the bakery closed up shop about 6 p.m. and 20 minutes later the fire department was alerted to the blaze.

RCMP was the first on the scene and Penner stated it looked as though no one was inside the building. No injuries have been reported.

Fire crews arrived to smoke billowing into the sky above Berry Road. Firefighters attacked the blaze from the front entrance of the building as the roof appeared to be too unstable to send crews inside, said Penner.

Main Street was blocked off for several hours as emergency crews were on scene.

BC Hydro arrived about two hours after the fire erupted to cut power to a small area.

The beloved business has been in operation for over 45 years, having recently been taken over by a couple from Alberta who had lost their jobs in the oil industry in 2019.

Hundreds of Okanagan residents took to social media, Thursday night, to write about their memories of the bakery and their sadness to see it gone.

The District of Lake Country also expressed its gratitude to the fire department for its swift response to the blaze and also offered condolences to the business owners.

Within hours of the beloved bakery going up in flames, a GoFundMe was started by the previous owner of the Winfield Bakery, Fritz Priwall.

“The bakery burned down…so a couple of good people lost their job…I like to help out. Until it’s all sorted out. I don’t have the right words to explain what I feel. So, I just leave it like this (sic),” stated Priwall.

Priwall is no stranger to helping out in a time of need, back in 2016, he along with his employees at the bakery and customers from around the Okanagan Valley, joined forces to donate close to $10,000 to the fire victims from Fort McMurray.

The fundraising goal is set at $40,000.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

READ MORE: The owners of Winfield Bakery in Lake Country are as sweet as their donuts

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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