As smoke settles in, fire grows to 1,500 ha
It’s not just sun-seeking tourists who are enjoying this stretch of hot, dry weather.
Encouraged by ideal environmental conditions, the Thomas Creek wildfire burning near Okanagan Falls grew to 1,500 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon, up from 900 hectares just 24 hours earlier.
“Growth specifically (on Tuesday) was due to the warm, hot afternoon, which fires do appreciate as well,” said BC Wildfire Service spokeswoman Ayden Coray, noting wind also buffeted the flames, which are chewing through steep terrain.
The service had 30 personnel, six helicopters and heavy equipment at the scene Wednesday. Crews’ efforts were focused on building fuel breaks on the west and southwest flanks closest to Okanagan Falls and the 700 properties currently under evacuation alert, plus conducting back burns to strengthen the guards.
No structures have been lost to the fire, which is suspected to be human-caused. It lit up Sunday afternoon in the hills approximately 1.5 kilometres east of Skaha Lake near the midway point of McLean Creek Road.
The properties under evacuation alert lie south of the Heritage Hills subdivision down to McLean Creek Road on the northeast edge of Okanagan Falls.
Included are 77 properties that were under an evacuation order until Monday afternoon, when officials determined the imminent danger had passed and downgraded them to alert status.
Smoke from the fire has made mapping its size difficult, but not much relief is expected anywhere as most of B.C. remains subject to air quality advisories issued by Environment Canada.
Doug Lundquist from the Meteorological Service of Canada said B.C. residents should be prepared for smoky skies to linger into the fall.
"We're going to see this for months," he said in an interview. "There’s smoke all over, from Alaska down to Mexico. All we need ... is the wind to go the wrong direction and bring it back up from other locations."
Four areas in the province, including the Okanagan, also remain under heat warnings.
Lundquist said the extreme heat that gripped much of the province and shattered records is a "once in my lifetime" event.
"I’ve done this job for 34 years and I don’t remember seeing anything as extraordinary as this," he said. "The smoke is coming a month earlier than we’ve seen before and we’ve never, ever had the heat like we've had at the end of June."
The BC Wildfire Service said much of the central part of the province is at extreme risk of wildfires with more than 300 fires burning. Two dozen of them are highly visible or pose a potential threat to public safety.
More than 1,760 square kilometres of land has burned since the wildfire season started on April 1.
Wildfires have also forced closures of major highways in the province, including Highway 97 north of 70 Mile House and Highway 20 in the Anahim Lake region.
The province is asking residents to remain cautious and be responsible in preventing possible fires after the wildfire service, RCMP and the Kamloops Fire Department responded to five suspicious blazes Tuesday night, all believed to have been caused by humans.