Spreading wildfire prompts evacuation order near Okanagan Falls
Posted August 18, 2020 6:34 pm.
Last Updated August 18, 2020 10:36 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OKANAGAN FALLS –The City of Penticton has issued an evacuation alert for 3,669 properties in the southeast part of the city.
Residents from the Heritage Hills area near the community of Okanagan Falls were evacuated as a rapidly growing Christie Mountain wildfire continues to burn out of control at 250 hectares in size.
The fire on Christie Mountain was among nearly 100 that have ignited in the past few days following a heatwave and thunderstorms in southern B.C.
The BC Wildfire Service says firefighters and air tankers are attacking the fire on Christie Mountain, on the east side of Skaha Lake about six kilometres north of the community of Okanagan Falls.
It says the fire was burning in difficult, rocky sloped terrain that made it challenging for ground crews to access. Early reports indicated it was an active surface fire with an organized flame front.
People living in Penticton have been flooding social media with pictures of the large plume of smoke that’s visible from their city.
