Wild weekend for firefighters in valley

Crews on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border have joined forces to battle a wildfire that moved north across over the international boundary during a long weekend that was anything but restful for Okanagan firefighters.

As of Monday afternoon, the Heather Lake fire was pegged at 1,900 hectares in size on the Canadian side — and approximately 650 hectares in the U.S. — and had burned within about five kilometres of a private resort in E.C. Manning Provincial Park.

While there was no immediate threat to the resort, it was placed under an evacuation alert and BC Parks closed numerous trails and facilities south of Highway 3 to the border.

An incident command team is overseeing the response of the BC Wildfire Service, which had 22 personnel, three helicopters and two pieces of heavy equipment at the scene Monday.

“Tuesday and Wednesday, we will see a continuing drying trend of warmer weather and increased fire behaviour. In many areas, the fire is burning in a highly volatile fuel type and has potential for aggressive fire behavior. Dead and fallen trees continue to burn at high elevations on steep slopes,” the BCWS said in an update on its website, which noted the fire is “highly visible” from Highway 3.

The fire was sparked by lightning on Aug. 11 inside the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Elsewhere in the region, the 7,000-hectare Keremeos Creek Wildfire, which the BC Wildfire Service considered "being held" as of Aug. 26, rattled nerves Friday when it flared to life along its southwest flank closest to Olalla.

“That was just due to heavy winds we were seeing in the area at the time. It didn’t escape the lines,” said BCWS spokeswoman Shaelee Stearns in an interview Monday, noting air tankers were sent to the scene as a precaution.

Around the same time that was happening, a new wildfire flared to life on nearby Blue Mountain approximately 10 kilometres west of Penticton off Shingle Creek Road.

It grew to 54 hectares in size before it was deemed “being held” as of Monday morning, although Stearns said the service still had personnel and equipment working on scene.

Like the Keremeos Creek fire, the cause of the Blue Mountain blaze remains under investigation.

All three nearby fires and others burning in the U.S. and Canada contributed to what was a hazy, smoky weekend in the Okanagan that prompted Environment Canada to issue an air quality advisory Sunday for much of southern B.C.

While the advisory was expected to remain in place for several days, it was dropped Monday morning as conditions improved quicker than expected.