The evacuation alert and order areas at the southern end of the Keremeos Creek Fire have now reached Keremeos itself. UDPATE 7:30 p.m A tweet from the RDOS EOC advises that Highway 3A is expected to be closed tonight. UPDATE 6:50 p.m An additional evacuation order has been issued along Highway 3A, south of Olalla, which was ordered to be evacuated earlier Thursday. The new order affects properties along Highway 3A south of Olalla to Liddicoat Road. UDPATE 6 p.m Following an evacuation order for the tiny Highway 3A community of Olalla, new evacuation notices have been issued as far away as Keremeo. The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District and the village of Keremeos have put the northern part of the community on alert. The evacuation alert extends south to Highway 3 and 7th Avenue within the borough. Residents on alert should pack their bags and be ready to leave immediately. DriveBC also reports that Highway 3A is being closed again due to the fire. A full list of affected non-borough addresses can be found here. A list of affected addresses on Keremeos is here. An interactive map of evacuation zones around the fire is here. UPDATE: 5:30 p.m The east side of Highway 3A in Olalla has been added to the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District’s evacuation order list, meaning the entire community is now being evacuated. The Keremeos Creek fire has been active in the area in recent days and the BC Wildfire Service expects wind in the forecast that could make the fire even more volatile. Emergency Support Services are available to evacuees at the Penticton Emergency Operations Center at Princess Margaret Secondary School, 120 Green Avenue. Call 250-328-8749 to access ESS services. All evacuees in need of transportation can call 250-490-4225. Any evacuee concerned about their animals can contact ALERT Animal Rescue at 250-490-7152. An evacuation order means you must leave the area immediately. For a complete list of vacated properties and an interactive map to determine where your property is on either the order list or notice list, click here. The Emergency Operations Center in Penticton will remain open late Thursday night to ensure everyone who needs support is accommodated. Photo: RDOS Evacuation orders at Olalla. Photo: Larissa Henschell UPDATE 4 p.m Nearly 40 more properties have been added to the RDOS evacuation notice list, in the Farleigh Lake and Marron Lake areas. Find the list of evacuation orders and notices and what to do if your property is affected online here. UPDATE: 3:20 p.m The fight against the Keremeos Creek Fire is far from over as crews are working around the clock to battle both the fire and the weather while protecting local homes. The fire broke out on Friday, July 29 and has so far resulted in the loss of one home. As of Thursday, August 4, 407 properties southwest of Penticton are under an evacuation order and hundreds more are under evacuation alert. The properties are all located in either Electoral Area G, rural Keremeos or Electoral Area I, rural Kaleden/Apex, within the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District. RDOS Area G manager Tim Roberts said on Thursday his constituents were concerned about the highly visible fire. “The concern of course is with the embers and the debris that falls,” Roberts said. “People are very concerned about their route to safety, whether or not they’re going to know, if and when, during business needs, that Highway 3A is closing, whether they’re heading to Penticton or not. head south, the seven kilometers to Keremeos”. An evacuation center has been set up in Penticton at Princess Margaret Secondary School for anyone eligible to access Emergency Support Services. There is currently no plan to have an evacuation center in Keremeo, according to RDOS CAO Bill Newell. BC Wildfire crews are doing everything they can to keep as many properties as safe as possible, and while cooler temperatures have helped, the weather forecast shows wind coming. “It’s still an uncontrolled fire. Very much an interface fire when you look at the fire and where the residences are and where the ranches are,” BCWS incident commander Brian Zandberg explained Thursday. “Yesterday afternoon it was launched [on the] west side of Cedar Creek … Then we had some 30 mph winds pushing it down toward some of the homes and ranches in the Cedar Creek area and again right over Olalla. It made everyone jump, I’ll say that much.” He said it had been “a bit of a battle” to protect all the homes in the area, but no other structures had been lost since an outlying home was destroyed last weekend. As of Thursday afternoon, a total of 175 wildland firefighters have been assigned to this fire and are working with an additional 170 structural protection personnel from fire departments across B.C. for a combined crew of 345 firefighters. Containment operations are underway on all forward edges of the fire. About 200 acres of controlled burns have already been conducted, with the distinct possibility of more to come, conditions permitting. “The big concern is the cold front that’s coming in with these winds. That’s really helping us determine that we really need to buckle down all the areas where we’re operating,” Zandberg said. “We’re just seeing that the winds are just variable depending on where on the fire you are and depending on the time of day. So there’s a very localized wind effect driving this fire to different corners and pockets and we’re seeing that now since then that we reached the fire”. Zandberg said they expect a warming and drying trend to move into the weekend, with little rain. “I mean, I felt like a couple falls out there today, but it’s nothing. So yes, everything [those] things are over the top at the moment.” The wildfire is estimated at 4,250 hectares as of Thursday, but BCWS notes that could change when more accurate mapping is possible. For anyone wondering about the evacuation order or alert status or looking for resources, check out the RDOS interactive map online here. To contact the Emergency Operations Center for fire support, call 250-490-4225. For immediate emergencies, call 911. UPDATE: 2 p.m The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District along with the BC Wildfire Service are hosting a live update on the Keremeos Creek Fire at 2 p.m. Thursday. Watch the stream above. Casey Richardson UPDATE: 12:50 p.m More evacuation orders have been announced in connection with the Keremeos creek fire. Another 40+ properties along Highway 3A, west to Olalla and south of Olalla, are now under order, including Sagewood (aka Ridgeview) and Olalla parks. Residents must leave immediately. Find information about all the resources available through the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District, including an interactive map of all evacuation notices and orders, online here or call 250-486-1890 for assistance. If you need help with transportation, call 250-490-4225. Anyone concerned about the evacuation of pets or livestock can contact ALERT for assistance at 250-809-7152. Members of the RCMP and other relevant agencies will be going door to door to help expedite the evacuation. A total of 175 wildland firefighters have been assigned to this fire working with an additional 170 structural protection personnel from fire departments across BC. for a combined crew of 345 firefighters. Photo: RDOS. List of new properties under eviction as of Thursday afternoon. UPDATE: 12 p.m A smoky sky advisory has been issued for the South Okanagan due to the Keremeos Creek Fire. Activity increased overnight near Olalla on Highway 3A and smoke is very heavy in that area. The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District and the BC Wildfire Service will host a live update at 2 p.m., which will be in this story at that time. For information on how to deal with smoke and who could be particularly vulnerable to adverse health effects, click here. UPDATE: 11:30 a.m Castanet reporter Casey Richardson is live on the scene with a look at the Keremeos Creek fire from Olalla. Photo: BCWS UPDATE: 10:15 a.m An updated map for the Keremeos Creek Fire is expected Thursday morning. The estimated size of 4,250 hectares does not account for overnight fire growth. A new perimeter map is expected soon. “Overnight, downslope winds in excess of 30 km/h drove the fire downhill along Hwy 3A south toward Olalla. Currently, the fire remains within evacuation order boundaries,” a update from BCWS. “Crews worked through the night to defend structures around the Cedar Creek drainage and contained fire on the west side of Highway 3A. Crews reported Class 4 fire behavior overnight.” Wind and slope continue to be the largest contributors to fire behavior. Olalla Creek Forest Service Road is closed until further notice. UPDATE: 9:20 a.m The Keremeos Creek fire located 21 kilometers southwest of Penticton is still estimated at 4,2500 hectares as of Thursday morning, according to the latest information from the BC Wildfire Service. “Today, crews will reinforce containment lines along Hwy 3A to Sheep Creek Staging as conditions permit. This will include burning using drip torches to address any remaining unburned fuel,” reads an update from BCWS. “Crews are constructing line from Hwy 3A continuing the restriction using Cedar Creek FSR on the east side to the north.” The fire status is listed as “Active”, no longer “Out of Control”. Evacuation orders for 324 properties and notices for hundreds more remain in effect. Stay updated on evacuation orders and alerts online here. “Crews were challenged yesterday at the…
