Keremeos Creek wildfire: Crews make progress amid controlled burns

BC Wildfire Service crews say they’ve made progress on the Keremeos Creek fire on the outskirts of the southern Okanagan region.

According to the agency, controlled burns have helped firefighters in recent days.

Hotter weather added to concerns over the weekend, but fire information officer Bryan Zandberg says winds were in their favour, with little growth reported.

“We had some very successful operations yesterday. We were able to remove the fuels … it’s looking clean and black this morning. The fire was really quiet overnight as well,” he told CityNews.

“What we’re dealing with right now is an upper ridge setting up, so we’re seeing hotter conditions, drier conditions, but the winds are actually relatively stable for what we’ve seen on this fire. Same with the downslope winds — this region has a lot of downslope winds at night, and we just have not been having to contend with these winds as much for the last three or four days.”

The BC Wildfire Service says it has been using a combination of tools to control the Keremeos Creek fire, which is now an estimated 5,903 hectares.

The service is also using a sprinkler system to protect properties, with crews patrolling neighbourhoods and other areas to ensure structures are protected.

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• Winds kick up Keremeos Creek wildfire flames, weather still a concern

The Keremeos Creek wildfire is located about 21 kilometres southwest of Penticton.

It has forced the evacuation of more than 500 properties. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 others are under evacuation alert.

“Today should be pretty consistent with what we’ve been doing operationally for the last little bit. It’s really just connecting the dots — we’ve got bits of guard pushed in in a lot of places. Today we’re just working to connect those dots and then remove fuels wherever we can just to stabilize the fire’s edge,” Zandberg explained Monday.

As temperatures continue to climb, the BC Wildfire Service says its crews are keeping a close eye on conditions.

The cause of the Keremeos Creek fire remains under investigation.

-With files from Kareem Gouda