Wildfire burning near Osoyoos not spreading toward town

The Eagle Bluff wildfire straddling the Canada-US border and burning west of Osoyoos, B.C., is growing but is not threatening the town as much as it previously had.

In an update Tuesday, the BC Wildfire Service says the blaze is now burning at 3,044 hectares in Canada, up from the 1,450 hectares it was measured at on Monday.

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However, fire officials noted that most of the growth has happened on the west and northwest edges of the fire, which are furthest from Osoyoos.

As such, the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen has rescinded some evacuation orders and alerts placed over the weekend when the fire first started threatening the community.

On Tuesday, 48 properties in Osoyoos are under an evacuation order, with 487 properties on evacuation alert. Throughout the region, 143 properties have been ordered to evacuate, while 482 are on evacuation alert.

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Shaelee Stearns, a fire information officer, says over 50 crew members are on the ground fighting the blaze Tuesday, with another 60-plus on-hand to help protect properties from the fire. She’s reminding people not to fly drones or other unmanned aerial devices near the blaze as they are a “high safety risk.”

“The operation of these in and around wildfires is illegal, and not only does it prevent our suppression efforts, but it can completely shut down aerial firefighting,” Stearns said.

An Incident Management Team is also being set up to handle the fire, which will be liaising with counterparts in the United States where the fire originated.

The Eagle Bluff fire has been burning in Canada since Saturday and is still classified as “out of control.”