Emergency crews hoping for calmer conditions after ‘erratic’ weekend

Following a windy weekend that breathed new life into wildfires across the province, crews were digging in again Monday on two major blazes in the South Okanagan.

The larger of the pair, Nk’Mip Creek, was pegged Monday at 17,800 hectares, up 300 hectares from last week. It has been burning since July 19 in the hills east of Oliver and Osoyoos.

On Sunday, crews watched as “erratic and extreme” conditions helped the northwest flank of the fire jump a guard and claw its way to within about 2 1/2 kilometres of the peak of Mount Baldy, residents of which have been evacuated for nearly a month, according to an update on the BC Wildfire Service website.

Structural protection units will remain in the area doing 24-hour patrols.

“With cooler temperatures and low winds in coming days, we will be continuing the building of guards in the north and northeast as well as significant mopping up in the south, east and west,” the update added.

“Planned ignitions may occur in the coming days if conditions allow to burn from guards towards the fire.”

The news was slightly better on the Thomas Creek fire, which has been burning since July 11 a few kilometres northeast of Okanagan Falls.

As of Monday, it was pegged at 11,800 hectares, unchanged from last week.

“During a tough day for firefighters around the province (Sunday), the Thomas creek fire exhibited subdued fire behaviour during extreme conditions,” the BCWS said in a separate update.

“This fire is still within built machine guard containment lines on all sides. Active areas were around the Allendale Lake area, however, we still saw limited growth in this area.”

On the northwest flank closest to Penticton, the BCWS has shifted into a modified response, meaning it will simply monitor the fire there because the terrain is too steep for personnel and equipment to work safely.

A “strong firefighter presence” remains in place on other parts of the fire, according to the BCWS update.

Meanwhile, the Penticton Emergency Support Service reception centre on Sunday received approximately 125 families in-person and another 130 by phone who were evacuated due to the White Rock Lake fire in the Central Okanagan, according to co-ordinator Adam Goodwin.

The centre has been active since July 11, when it began helping evacuees from around the province connect with emergency supports.