It is among a large number of wildfires that have ignited across the province after a week of extreme temperatures. Of BC’s 70 active wildfires, 43 have broken out in the past two days. The fire near Penticton is now burning 1.5 square kilometres, up 50 per cent since Friday night. Most of the increase was seen after the fire jumped east along Green Mountain Road, according to the BC Wildfire Service. Residents of 21 properties near Green Mountain Road have been ordered to leave by the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District, while another 25 are under evacuation alert as of 11:30 a.m. Saturday. “We will continue to see hot and dry conditions over the next few days as this fire unfolds,” said Aydan Coray, fire information officer. “While the fuels have dried up, they will continue to dry up as we see [relative humidity] decreases even further and the hot dry weather continues.’ Corey said it’s difficult to predict where the fire will develop and whether it will move toward Penticton given how volatile the situation is. He said structure protection officers remain on scene. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. It is currently burning 21 km southwest of the city of Penticton, which is located in the southern interior of BC.

The fire near Lytton continues to burn

The Keremeos Creek fire is BC’s second “premier fire,” meaning it is highly visible or threatens public safety. The first of its season, the Nohomin Creek fire northwest of Lytton, continues to burn in an area of ​​29.1 square kilometers after starting on July 14. The Nohomin Creek Fire resulted in nearly 100 people being ordered to evacuate their homes and at least 10 structures being destroyed. Some of the evacuation orders issued by local authorities have been downgraded, but many remain in effect as of Saturday. Karley Desrosiers, fire information officer, said no significant growth is expected for the fire due to suppression efforts, but fire is still being seen on the northwest side of the fire. “We’re seeing an expected decrease in humidity today [Saturday] compared to yesterday,” he said. “That will probably affect the behavior of the fire and it may be more active than yesterday, but that’s not unexpected.” The Nohomin Creek Fire burns on the west side of Lytton on July 15. The fire service says growth is only possible on the northwest side of the fire. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC) The fire also resulted in the closure of nearby Stein Nlaka’pamux Valley Heritage Park. Without a steady cooling trend, Desrosiers says the fire is likely to continue burning. “I would say the biggest challenge right now, here and elsewhere, is the heat,” he said.

Thousands of lightning bolts

According to the fire service, the province saw nearly 4,000 lightning strikes in the past two days, the majority of which were domestic. Currently, 45 percent of B.C.’s fires at this time they were manifested by lightning, while 48 percent were due to human activity. Most of the province has been under a “high” fire danger rating since Saturday. The BC province was struck by lightning 3,995 times from the storms yesterday and last night. The majority (nearly 2,500) were at Kamloops Fire Centre, with the remainder at Prince George, Southeast and Cariboo Fire Centres. pic.twitter.com/MtMXBMIM7i —@BCGovFireInfo While open fire bans are in place across the province, small fires are still allowed, which means keeping fires under half a meter high and wide and keeping water or a tool nearby to keep them under control. Fire Chief Jean Strong said Friday that it is unusual not to have a fire ban until the end of summer. Fire centers are closely monitoring the situation, Strong said, and a ban could be put in place if conditions change in the coming weeks.