Fire chases people from their homes
An incident management team arrived Sunday to help get control of a 15-square-kilometre wildfire near Princeton, while emergency officials prepared to evacuate 195 more homes in the area.
The blaze, about 10 kilometres north of the community, was discovered Friday and promptly chased people from 60 properties on Highway 5A and Summers Creek Road.
Residents of another 195 homes in the Missezula Lake area were expected to begin leaving today at 2 a.m. as the only maintained access road is closed due to fire.
“The delay (in evacuating) is to allow for the safest passage through Summers Creek Road at a time when the temperature is coldest and the fire risk is lower,” the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen said in a press release Sunday.
It noted many homes on Missezula Lake are summer cabins and may be unoccupied. Regardless, owners are asked to call 250-293-6672 to let officials know they’re safe.
An evacuation alert was also in place for 233 homes in the Jura, Erris and Jellicoe areas on Princeton-Summerland Road south of Chain Lake.
As of Sunday afternoon, 106 members of the first wave of evacuees had registered at an emergency support services reception centre in Princeton and were being provided shelter and other necessities, according to the RDOS.
The fire was pegged at 1,500 hectares, unchanged since Saturday, but still considered out of control by the BC Wildfire Service.
Fifty firefighters, helicopters and heavy equipment were all being brought to bear on the blaze.
“The crews are continuing to build machine guards and lay hose lines. That’s their primary focus,” said BC Wildfire Service spokeswoman Tracy Wynnyk.
They’re also now under the command of the incident management team, which is used “to co-ordinate strategies for fire operations,” she explained.
Smaller fires are typically handled by zone offices throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre, but when “a situation expands beyond the capacity of a local zone, then it goes up to another level” to a dedicated management team, Wynnyk continued.
As crews did battle in Princeton over the weekend, emergency officials rescinded an evacuation alert for 186 properties in Kaleden, which lost one home last week in a 6.5-hectare blaze.
“While the evacuation alert is being rescinded, there will still be crews dealing with hot spots within the containment zone,” the RDOS noted in a press release.
“Residents are asked to call 911 if they see any smoke or fire activity.”
Meanwhile, every local government in the region has imposed a temporary fire ban to help cut the risk of new wildfires starting. The ban includes campfires and fireworks.
The ban does not cover cooking stoves fuelled by gas or charcoal, provide the flame height does not exceed 15 centimetres.
Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit also issued a separate statement urging the public to exercise vigilance during this highly volatile fire season.
“Starting a fire or carelessly discarding smoking materials is a risk we cannot afford right now,” he said. “On behalf of council, I ask that everyone stay alert and report any activities that could put our community at risk by calling 911.”