‘Risk is always there’: Apex Mountain evacuated as aggressive wildfire near Penticton grows

Hundreds of properties in the South Okanagan have been evacuated, and many more have been told to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, because of the Keremeos Creek wildfire near Penticton.

The aggressive fire has grown to 2,790 hectares since it was first spotted a few days ago.

More than 300 properties in the Apex Mountain Resort are are under an evacuation order, while another 400 are on alert.

“All of Apex Mountain resort is under an evacuation order and everyone has left the premise — it’s only essential people that are there working,” James Shalman, general manager of Apex Mountain Resort, told CityNews Tuesday morning.

“Other than that … if you look up in the sky, it’s beautiful and blue. Mornings are always quite nice up here but there’s a temperature inversion that’s kind of been suppressing the smoke down and that cooler air aloft has been pushing down onto the fire and we kind of seem to get a lot of activity with the fire in the later afternoons and evenings,”

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The fire has been erratic, aggressive, and tough to fight. The BC Wildfire Service has described it as “vigorous but not organized.”

It’s burning about 20 kilometres southwest of Penticton near Apex Mountain Resort. Flames and smoke could be seen on one of the resort’s webcams.

The cause of the wildfire is still under investigation.

Fire Information Officer Bryan Zandberg says it is not just burning vegetation on the ground, but also setting the tops of trees on fire, which is called “candling.”

“Obviously there are plenty of fuels. We are in desert country here, so there are well-cured fuels for the fire to get into. We do have localized weather conditions, such as winds, that will sort of push the fire, not in an organized way — you can see that with the new fire footprint kind of expanding outwards sort of on all sides in a sense,” Zandberg explained Monday.

More than 200 firefighters, eight helicopters, and four pieces of heavy equipment have been deployed to this plaze.

The Keremeos Creek wildfire near Penticton is clearly visible from Apex Mountain Resort, which was evacuated Monday due to the aggressive blaze. (Courtesy Apex Mountain)

Battling the fire has been a team effort. BC Wildfire Service Crews have been working closely with various departments, including local fire fighters, to get the blaze controlled

“Everything from making sure our water systems are all good, our snow-making system has been blowing out,” Shalman explained, adding his teams are working closely with the BC Wildfire Service to provide whatever support its members need.

Apex has also been running its snow guns with the hopes that will provide some support.

“They’ve been active for three days now, blowing 24 hours a day. We have them in strategic locations around the village, on our lift infrastructure. Obviously they’re all portable and we’re moving them as needed,” Shalman added.

Apex Mountain has deployed its snow guns as part of its wildfire fighting efforts. This comes as the Keremeos Creek Wildfire near Penticton continues to burn aggressively, forcing hundreds of properties to evacuate. (James Shalman)

The risk of the fire making its way to the actual resort is unclear, he adds, noting it’s “really Mother Nature pending.”

“The fire’s only maybe three to four kilometres away from the resort. As we know, with winds at 40km/h, it can get here in no time. The risk is always high, however, the winds are forecast to kind of maintain pushing it more or less away from the resort, more towards the southwest. Having said that, there’s always micro-climates … this is a very mountainous area that we’re in and there can be backheading as far as wind direction goes, pushing the fire in directions that aren’t really noticeable by a high-level forecast as far as wind direction and wind flow goes,” Shalman said.

“The risk is always there, and we’re dealing with it.”

The BC Wildfire Service says weather in the area was slightly cooler Monday and is forecast to remain as such this week, possibly giving firefighters an advantage for now.

CityNews Meteorologist Carl Lam says conditions in the region have been hot and dry for some time.

“It is no surprise that we have some wildfires southwest of Penticton at this point and what we do have in terms of conditions for this week are cooler temperatures, so not nearly as hot, but also a little bit of rain headed our way for Wednesday and Thursday, so that’s some welcomed assistance by the crews fighting these wildfires,” he explained.

The inversion that was in place over the Keremeos Creek wildfire (K50863) this morning made visibility on portions of the wildfire difficult to fly accurately for tracking. The inversion lifted this afternoon and visibility improved across the fire.

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 2, 2022

When it comes to air quality, Lam notes there’s a moderate risk in the south Okanagan region Tuesday.

“But as you head farther east, with that westerly wind, it does elevate the concern a little bit for those in Cranbrook and southwest Alberta for air quality. But nothing that’s going to tip you into that moderate risk at this point,” he added.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Emergency Operations Centre says a small, unoccupied cabin has been destroyed and crews are working to protect other properties threatened by the flames.

People from nearby communities have already come together to offer those displaced supports. On social media, many are providing shelter to people who have been forced out of their homes.

Baldy Resort is also telling evacuees to reach out if they’re in need of assistance, with one person who says they work for the resort saying they are ready to provide help.

-With files from Kareem Gouda