Evacuation order ended
A back-burning operation early Monday in the area of the Thomas Creek wildfire helped keep flames from reaching some of the approximately 700 properties that were under evacuation orders or alerts, according to the BC Wildfire Service’s incident commander.
Kim Janowsky said heavy equipment was used to dig fire breaks along the southwest flank of the 500-hectare fire near Okanagan Falls, then personnel moved in to burn whatever fuel remained between bare ground and flames.
“That all went very well. There was no (fire) excursion over the line, so we’re very thankful it went as well as it did,” Janowsky told reporters during a lunch-hour briefing Monday.
The fire, which is suspected to be human-caused, lit up early Sunday afternoon in the hills approximately 1.5 kilometres east of Skaha Lake. It generally moved in a southeasterly direction towards the 201 Forest Service Road and away from residential properties, according to Janowsky.
Still, it caused enough alarm to trigger an evacuation order Sunday night for 77 properties and an alert for 627 more.
The order was downgraded to an alert Monday afternoon, meaning residents of all 704 properties should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Janowsky said the fire was initially spreading so aggressively it was starting new spot fires up to 200 metres ahead of itself and demonstrating Rank 5 behaviour.
“That means it’s up in the top of the trees,” he explained.
“It’s running as a crown fire and there’s not a lot we’re going to stick in front of that.”
He hopes containment lines going in on the north side of Shuttleworth Creek near the southern flank of the fire will be connected in coming days with containment lines being built on the eastern flank roughly parallel to the 201 Forest Service Road.
A variety of firefighting aircraft is also assisting with suppression efforts on the fire, which was burning just south of the 2,000-hectare area that was scorched by the Christine Mountain wildfire in August 2020.
Janowsky said the evacuation alerts will likely remain in place for foreseeable future.
“That is just because if we get a shift in the winds, we want people to understand we’re going to give you 30 minutes and if you have to leave it’s for your own safety,” he said.
However, a “significant” number of people chose to defy the first evacuation order, according to Bill Newell, director of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen emergency operations centre.
“We do know there are some property owners staying in to protect their properties and animals and at this time we’re just monitoring the situation,” Newell told Monday’s briefing prior to the order being lifted.
He said at least 30 cows and 20 horses had been relocated to the Okanagan Falls stockyard with the assistance of the Animal Lifeline Emergency Response Team.
Newell urged people to stay away from area to give firefighters the space they need and encouraged any property owners subject to an evacuation order or alert to pre-register with Emergency Services B.C. by visiting www.ess.gov.bc.ca.
“Even if you don’t require services, register. You can do it online. It’s very easy,” said Newell.
People can also register in person at a reception centre located at 199 Ellis St. in Penticton.
Only nine people from the 77 properties under evacuation order had checked in at the reception centre as of Monday afternoon, according to Newell.
Meanwhile, with no end in sight to B.C. wildfire season, there's already been double the average number of blazes and three times the area burned.
BC Wildfire Service spokeswoman Taylor Colman said the province has seen 987 wildfires this year with more than 1,540 square kilometres of land charred, and of that about 1,500 square kilometres is still burning.
"It's significantly more than what we consider the average," Colman said in an interview Monday.
The province would have seen about 490 fires on an average at this time of the year with about 500 square kilometres burned, she added.
There are more than 300 wildfires currently burning in the province with 24 of them ranked as especially threatening or visible.
These include the fire that began June 30 and destroyed the village of Lytton and another fire north of Kamloops that has scorched 402 square kilometres of bush in just two weeks.
Wildfire risk across most of B.C. is ranked high or extreme and Environment Canada has issued another round of heat warnings for parts of the province, including the Okanagan.
Colman described the warning as "concerning" for firefighters.
"We still have quite a few weeks in wildfire season, and what we consider the peak of wildfire season, so we still have a long way to go," she said.
The provincial government has also warned that large parts of B.C. are now facing drought conditions.