Oliver, Osoyoos fires being held

Wildfire activity in the South Okanagan has cooled off after a worrisome start to the week.

As of Tuesday afternoon, both the Wolfcub Creek fire east of Oliver and the Old Richter Pass fire west of Osoyoos were listed as being held.

The larger of the two was the Wolfcub Creek fire, which sparked Sunday afternoon on Osoyoos Indian Band land. It grew to 45 hectares and spawned evacuation orders for 13 properties and alerts for another 16 properties before it was brought under control Monday.

Also on Monday, Highway 3 was closed for several hours through the Richter Pass as crews dealt with a fire near Spotted Lake. The fire scorched approximately two hectares before the threat was neutralized.

Both blazes are suspected by the BC Wildfire Service to be human caused.

Elsewhere in the Okanagan, spot fires were burning Tuesday afternoon near Nevertouch Lake, roughly 12 kilometres northeast of Big White, and near Oyama Lake in Lake Country.

Lightning is suspected to have caused both blazes.

The largest wildfire in the Okanagan remains near Derickson Lake, which as of Tuesday morning had burned an estimated 1,140 hectares in the Big White area. While still listed as out of control, the blaze, believed to have been sparked by lightning, hasn’t gained much size since the date of its discovery June 29.

There were 208 active fires burning across the province as of Tuesday afternoon, with 71 of them in the Kamloops Fire Centre, which covers the entire Thompson-Okanagan.

Since April 1, fires have scorched approximately 69,000 hectares – 690 square kilometres – within the Kamloops Fire Centre. By contrast, the City of Penticton covers 42 square kilometres.