“Yeah, we’re a little worried right now,” said Chris Martens, as he loaded his truck with important belongings in case he and his neighbors are ordered to leave the area. The Keremeos Creek fire is burning about 21 kilometers southwest of Penticton and has been classified as out of control. Twenty-five nearby properties are already under evacuation orders. “We were on a road trip. We just heard it yesterday from our friends and the next thing you know we had a lot of messages coming in,” Martens said. “So we’re back home and here we’re getting things set up to maybe leave again for another road trip.” So far, only four families have registered with emergency officials in the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District — and on Sunday, people were still trying to access the evacuation zone. “I’ll drive right by,” resident Mark Flood said as he stood in front of a Road Closed sign. “I hope I won’t meet any resistance. I will not stay there today. I’m just going to check my position to see what’s going on down there.” Since it was discovered on Friday, the Keremeos creek fire has grown to nearly 500 hectares. “I would expect it to increase over the next few days given the conditions we’ve seen in the area,” said Jean Strong of the BC Fire Service. “It’s hot and dry and it’s pretty steep terrain that can be difficult for our crews to access.” An Incident Management Team has been assigned to the fire which is being attacked by eight helicopters and 29 frontline BC Wildfire Service personnel. The burning area is too steep for fixed-wing aircraft to perform effective missions. Local fire departments, including Keremeos, Naramata and Summerland, have dispatched crews and trucks to focus on protecting structures. Apex Mountain Resort has deployed its snow cannons to spray water on its buildings and infrastructure in an effort to prevent wind-borne embers from starting a fire. A total of 357 properties in that area remain on evacuation alert, with residents told to prepare to leave in a hurry if the fire continues to creep in their direction. “We know they get nervous. It’s only three to four kilometers away from a really high-density area,” said Bill Newell, the regional district’s chief administrative officer. “So we are actively planning an evacuation of Apex right now.” At the moment, this is not considered necessary, but the situation can change quickly.
