Firefighters get upper hand on blaze near Kelowna but forecast a concern

Crews battling a wildfire that’s led to the evacuation of 156 homes near Kelowna said Monday they’d halted the blaze.

But while cooler temperatures and a concerted attack helped stall the fire burning in the Bear Creek area of West Kelowna, there’s concern about an expected return to hotter weather on Tuesday, said B.C. Wildfire Service spokeswoman Melissa Klassen.

“Today is a really good day for fire suppression,” she said. “But if we see the cloud cover dissipate and an increase in temperature, we could see an increase in fire behaviour.”

The fire started Sunday night and quickly ate up timber, covering 52.5 hectares by Monday afternoon. Along with the 156 properties and the nearby Bear Creek Campground evacuated, 12 other homes were put on alert.

Partly because of those weather concerns, no word has been given to allow evacuees back to their homes, said Klassen.

While several outbuildings have been damaged or destroyed, no homes have yet been torched, though there’s been a few close calls, she added.

“The fire did come quite close to two properties, to their doorsteps,” she said.

A force of 46 firefighters backed up by one helicopter and two water tankers have been battling the blaze. They’ve managed to build fire breaks and tamp down the blaze that’s more of a smouldering, low-burning foe, said Klassen.

Heather Holmes, who moved to West Kelowna from Calgary earlier this month, said the wildfire nearby is unnerving but added she’s confident about the protection offer by firefighters.

“I’m comfortable enough that firefighters are doing their jobs — they’ve got a lot more resources after all the previous fires here,” she said.

The area around her neighbourhood, she said, has already burned in a previous wildfire.

“It’s already burned right next to me, so that’s why I thought this was a good place to purchase” she said.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.