Burning southwest of Penticton, the Keremeos Creek fire was at 437 hectares as of Sunday night. However, as of Monday afternoon, the out-of-control fire had grown dramatically to 2,264 hectares, according to the BC Wildfire Service. Hundreds more evacuation orders were issued Monday, including dozens in Apex Mountain Village. Those in the area were told to leave immediately and wait for the RCMP to help expedite the process. An evacuation order was also announced Monday by the Lower Similkameen Indian Band for some properties around Green Mountain Road. One was also announced for properties in Electoral Areas Z and I, including part of Olalla. “There are crews working in the area, so while there may not necessarily be an immediate danger to those homes, such as a fire outside the building, it may be because there are fire crews in that area doing important and dangerous work. So having people in the area is not ideal,” said Erick Thompson, information officer for the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District. An evacuation center has been set up at Princess Margaret High School at 120 Green Ave. in Penticton. Thompson urges anyone with a property under an evacuation order or alert to register with the province even if they don’t need immediate help. “If you sign up, you have access to services and it can really help you identify who’s in the area and who’s not,” he said. “There are quite a few property owners who are not present and if they are in a different part of the province or in a different province, it can really help identify who needs service.” Nearly 250 properties are under the new evacuation order and another 110 properties are under evacuation alert. Thompson says now is the time for those people to prepare. “Having a grab kit is very important. So anyone under an evacuation alert should take these steps in advance,” Thompson said. “During an evacuation order, when people must leave immediately, they should not take boats and trailers. This can block the discharge path. It is important that people keep this in mind. During an evacuation alert, it’s time to move those important items.” The fire was discovered on Friday and officials say it has been a challenge to fight because much of the fire “is in terrain that cannot be operated to support aircraft carriers and heavy machinery.” According to the BC Wildfire Service, 144 people are now assigned to the fire, with more expected to join the fight in the coming days. “We’re really bringing the resources we need to attack this fire as aggressively as we can,” said fire information officer Bryan Zandberg. “There’s a heat warning and we’re worried about our crews with heat exhaustion and just being out in that kind of tough terrain and tough weather. However, we have plans for it.” Nine helicopters are also being used to drop water on the fire that Zandberg said is burning in steep rocky terrain that is difficult to reach with ground crews and equipment. He said weather conditions were favorable in the mornings but changed in the afternoons with increased winds feeding oxygen to the fire. “We had some category four and five fire behavior yesterday, so it’s a very strong fire,” Zandberg said. “You see trees waxing, you see a bit of an organized flame front. It’s mostly in this inaccessible terrain.” Local fire departments, including Keremeos, Naramata and Summerland, have dispatched crews and trucks to focus on protecting structures. At least one structure has been destroyed. Over the weekend, Apex Mountain Resort used its snow cannons to spray water on its buildings and infrastructure in an effort to prevent wind-blown embers from starting a fire.
