Aggressive fire southwest of Penticton grows, evacuation orders issued
Posted July 31, 2022 12:23 pm.
Last Updated July 31, 2022 12:27 pm.
The BC Wildfire Service says a fire burning about 21 kilometres southwest of Penticton has now grown to 4.4 square kilometres.
An evacuation order has been issued by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen for communities in the vicinity of the Keremeos Creek wildfire, which was discovered Friday.
The order covers Green Mountain Road between Highway 3A to the south, Apex Mountain Road to the north and in the general vicinity of Ford Lake.
The BC Wildfire Service says 40 personnel are involved and one helicopter “with three additional helicopters available once visibility improves.” They add 10 personnel stayed overnight.
“This wildfire is located in terrain that is inoperable for air tanker and heavy machinery support at this time, though these resources remain available on standby as the incident evolves,” said a statement.
New Evacuation Alerts and Orders have been issued by the @RDOSinfo. Find the latest updates from them here: https://t.co/fAWc11cSNI
Updated information for this wildfire will be provided on the Wildfire of Note page as it becomes available: https://t.co/m8IZY03bVY— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) July 31, 2022
The cause of the blaze has not been determined, and the BC Wildfire Service says it is displaying “aggressive” and “erratic” behaviour.
The service says the fire is burning in an area that is inoperable for air tanker and heavy machinery support.
(Photo credit: B.C. Wildfire Dashboard)
It says there are 45 BC Wildfire Service personnel, including structure protection personnel, unit crew and parattack crews, now deployed to the fire.
Updates to the wildfire can be found on the BC Wildfire Service dashboard.
