The most alarming fire in the province remains the Fire at Keremeos creek21 kilometers southwest of Penticton, in the southern Interior. It resulted in them being placed on 25 properties evacuation order and over 350 properties being commissioned evacuation alarm in the area. The “volatile” fire jumped a street on Friday night and then nearly tripled in size on Saturday. However, on Sunday, the BC Wildfire Service said that minimal growth was observed overnight. The fire is near Penticton, which is 63 kilometers south of Kelowna. The Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District has issued a series of evacuation notices and orders related to the Keremeos Creek fire southwest of Penticton. (Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District) “Right now there’s a small inversion that’s keeping the smoke very low in the valley, which is preventing some of our aerial resources from operating safely on the fire line,” Aydan Coray, fire information officer, said Sunday morning. . “Once that kind of inversion breaks and we get a little more visibility down the valley, we’ll have additional helicopters joining in throughout the day.” More than 40 firefighters are working on the blaze, which started on Friday. Coray said high temperatures will continue to challenge firefighters Sunday, although a gradual cooling trend is expected to begin early next week. He said it was difficult to predict which direction the fire might develop on Sunday. Evacuation notices issued by the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District cover nearby Apex Mountain Ski Resort, which is northwest of the fire. James Salman, the resort’s general manager, said people at the facility were “optimistic” about the fire’s behavior Sunday and that windy conditions meant the smoke was not yet visible from the resort. He said the resort has had a wildfire plan that has been in place for more than 30 years and includes the use of snow machines for fire mitigation. “We’re one of the few mountains that has an avalanche from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain and on different routes,” he said. “What we’re doing is putting our snowmaking weapons in strategic areas that could potentially help us if the fire comes our way, that’s another line of defense.” A snow gun blows water over a structure near Apex Mountain Resort on Sunday as the resort prepares for the possible arrival of the nearby Keremeos Creek Fire. (Tom Popyk/CBC) He said about four staff members are working to get everything back in place, with the resort ready to “flip a switch” if needed. “Fires … are a threat and a danger,” he said. “It’s always on our minds. And we’re always a little nervous and always grateful when we go through the summer without one.”
There are no restrictions on camping
The Nohomin Creek Fire, about 1.7 kilometers northwest of Lytton, B.C., grew Saturday in high-elevation areas due to hot, dry conditions. The fire service said helicopters battled the blaze steadily throughout the day, while rocky slopes and thin fuel slowed its growth in some areas. Donna MacPherson, fire information officer, said the agency was well-resourced to fight fires around the province. Despite the rise of the fire starts after a week extreme temperaturesMacPherson said the province is in much better shape compared to last year. “We have about 440 [total] fires in the province — that’s about half of our 10-year average,” he said. “That’s a lot less than last year, which was almost 1,278 at the same time [as] This year.” Despite the favorable comparison to last year’s disastrous season, McPherson urged the country’s residents to be cautious. There are no camping bans in the province, although large open fires are prohibited. A small fire means keeping fires under half a meter in height and width and keeping water or a tool close by to keep them under control. “Right now we allow these types of fires, but they’re very small, controlled fires. I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes … though,” McPherson said. “Because we’ve had that period of very hot, dry weather, we expect we might have some [bans] be in place next week.”
