UPDATE: 8:37 p.m BC Wildfire Service crews are conducting planned, small-scale burns along Highway 3A to help fight the Keremeos Creek Fire. In a social media post Tuesday night, BCWS said wildland firefighting personnel are working alongside structure firefighters to apply the flares. “Crews will use a hand ignition technique and structure protection crews will protect power poles and mitigate highway impacts,” BCWS said. “The purpose of this is to reduce the fire to a pre-existing control line by removing unburned fuel between the fire perimeter and Highway 3A. This will also help minimize the chance of spotting.” Highway 3A has been closed to traffic since Tuesday afternoon, with no expected reopening. The Keremeos Creek fire, burning southwest of Penticton, is estimated at about 2,800 hectares and has forced the evacuation of more than 320 properties. In a briefing Tuesday, Bryan Zandberg, fire information officer, said cooler temperatures Tuesday helped crews take more aggressive action to fight the blaze. There are about 230 people from BCWS and fire departments across the Interior working on the fire.
BC Wildfire Service crews and structural firefighters are currently working together to implement planned small scale fires along Highway 3A. pic.twitter.com/eKcdEvgJ8t — BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 3, 2022 UPDATE: 3:20 p.m Weather conditions on the Keremeos Creek fire southwest of Penticton are allowing fire crews to attack more aggressively. In a live update Aug. 2, BC Wildfire Information Officer Bryan Zandberg said cooler temperatures Tuesday helped the fight. “We’re not seeing the fire take off. There’s been some ‘spiciness’ as we say along Highway 3A I hear this afternoon, but we have a lot more personnel out,” Zandberg said, referring to fire activity near the highway connecting the Penticton and Keremeo. This highway has been closed since Tuesday afternoon with no estimated reopening time. Conditions were difficult for crews to attack the approximately 2,800 hectare fire which forced the evacuation of more than 320 properties. “It’s just such a tight canyon, and people live right there, under the ponderosa pines. And so we continue to put a lot of effort into monitoring those areas, and every time something flashes that we’re not happy with, [we’re] knocking it back,” Zandberg said. He said crews are shifting to be “much, much more aggressive” on the fire now that temperatures and conditions are cooperating and there are enough boots on the ground — 229, to be exact, made up of BCWS personnel and members from fire departments from all over the Interior. Over in the mountain village of Apex, which has been evacuated, crews are hard at work using the ski resort’s snow cannons. “They have nine or 10 of them set up around the lower village area that runs towards their quad and triple chair and the idea behind it is to protect the main assets of the Apex Resort … the lifts, the restaurants, the ski shops, the cafes,” explained Molly Raine, fire protection officer with Apex Volunteer Fire Rescue. “Right now they’re raining on the surrounding areas, but they can just as quickly turn them around to look at the buildings and help soak them.” Zandberg said the outlook is positive for a strong response to the fire, but warned it could be a long road. “Given where it’s burning, it’s going to burn in some of this high country probably for a while. But that doesn’t mean we can’t really do things quietly… So we’re going to continue to do it really hard,” Zandberg said. “Right now we’re seeing an uptick in fire behavior across the province. So that’s something we have to keep in mind. But right now, we have a good level of resources and more. So we’re going to continue to be really aggressive and work to deliver on the plans we have to address the current fire footprint and the critical values at risk in this area.” For more information on resources for those at risk of fire, click here. UPDATE: 2 p.m The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District will have a live update at 2 p.m. on the status of the Keremeos Creek fires. Casey Richardson UPDATE: 11:30 a.m Castanet News reporter Casey Richardson was live on the scene in Yellow Lake with an update and a look at conditions at the Keremeos Creek Fire. Check out the screenshot above. Officials have just announced that Highway 3A will be closed between the Highway 97 interchange and Keremeos until further notice. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Emergency Operations Center (RDOS EOC) has developed a process for residents under evacuation orders to have temporary access to their properties. Residents should request temporary access before 5 p.m. for next day access. Residents in the evacuation order area can request a temporary access permit via e-mail [email protected] or by calling 250-490-4231. Temporary access permits are only for emergencies, which are matters of life and death. The purpose of temporary permits is to provide residents with a way to access their properties in a safe and orderly manner. The RCMP and other private security agencies control access and protect properties under evacuation. All residents without permitted access are asked to stay away from properties under evacuation orders. Photo: Contributed Southwest corner of the Keremeos Creek Wildfire on Tuesday
