Evacuees told to stay away

As Apex Mountain resort remains under evacuation order due to the Keremeos Creek wildfire, property owners are being told to stay away.

“It’s a workspace, a lot of crew up here, and it (people checking on their property) adds another element that crews will have to deal with,” said Apex Volunteer Fire and Rescue fire prevention officer Molly Raine during a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

“Spirits are definitely good up here, everyone is working really hard.”

Abandoned pets could be one of the few exceptions for returning home said Erick Thompson, communications coordinator for the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen.

Items such as medications, which can be readily picked up at a pharmacy for an emergency, are unlikely to be a legitimate reason to enter the evacuation area.

A total of 229 firefighters are on the scene, an almost 50/50 representation of structural protection and wildland firefighters. There are eight helicopters performing bucket drops.

As of The Herald’s press deadline late Tuesday afternoon, 324 residents are on evacuation order with another 438 on evacuation alert.

In Area I (Skaha West, Kaleden, Apex), there are 300 property owners under evacuation order with another 24 in Area G (Olalla, Keremeos). The Penticton Indian Reserve and Lower Similkameen Indian Reserve are both affected by the fire.

To date, only one structure has been destroyed and there have been no injuries reported.

The wildfire, first discovered last Friday, has grown slightly over the past 24 hours to 2,790 hectares in size.

BC Wildfire Service says weather in the Penticton area is slightly cooler and is expected to remain that way for the next several days, giving crews a chance to work on containment lines.

“One thing that’s heartening to see is the number of boots that are on the ground right now,” said BC Wildfire information officer Bryan Zandberg, Tuesday.

“We are seeing cooler temperatures, higher humidity, we’re not seeing the fire taking off. Crews are working on critical planks, streaming out and connecting all the dots.”

Highway 3A is closed as well as several other arteries. Traffic congestion in Oliver has been high over the past several days.

To avoid misinformation from social media, Zandberg suggests those in the fire zone regularly check websites such as DriveBC for road closures, BC Wildfire Service (see: fires of note) and the RDOS website at: emergency.rdos.bc.ca