Firefighters continue to get the upper hand on wildfires
Thunder and a few minutes of rain on Tuesday night had little effect on the fire situation this week in the Okanagan.
While the Goode’s Creek fire in Okanagan Mountain Park continues to rage, other area fires have been downgraded and are no longer considered Wildfires of Note by the BC WIldfire Service.
“Mount Eneas (four kilometres south of Peachland) is under control, and both Goode’s Creek and Glenfir Road are looking really good,” Marla Catherall, fire information officer with the Okanagan Complex, said.
Goode’s Creek is still classified as “out of control.” A crew of 25 firefighters and air support “as needed” is working to patrol and extinguish hot spots.
Mount Eneas, south of Peachland, is classified as “under control,” but is still the largest of the fires, at 1,790 hectares. SIxty-two firefighters were on site Wednesday.
At Glenfir Road, 10 km northwest of Naramata, the fire is classified as “held,” which the BC Wildfires website defines as meaning “we do not anticipate any further growth due to current conditions and suppression tactics implemented.”
“Even though we’re downsizing, there still will be smoke. We’ve extinguished the hot spots around the perimeter, but there is still burning in the middle,” Catherall said.
The fire situation is hotter in the Similkameen where a backcountry lodge has been ordered evacuated and nearly 900 homes placed on evacuation alert as a result of two wildfires burning out of control.
The evacuation order was issued Wednesday for the Cathedral Lakes Lodge.
Officials fear it may become inaccessible due to the Placer Mountain fire, which originated about 37 kilometres southwest of Princeton.
The fire was pegged at 2,300 hectares as of Wednesday, up from 1,500 a day earlier, with 116 personnel, nine helicopters and 14 pieces of heavy equipment battling it, according to BC Wildfire Service.
Meanwhile, 485 properties within Areas B and G of the Regional District of OkanaganSimilkameen and another 384 within the Village of Keremeos were placed on evacuation alert Tuesday night as a result of the Snowy Mountain fire.
That behemoth, which lit up about 14 kilometres south of Keremeos, had grown to 6,600 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon, double its size a day earlier. The BC Wildfire Service had 19 personnel, three helicopters and four pieces of heavy equipment working it.
“Smoke is drifting from the incident to adjacent areas, and the smoke column and open flame is visible from surrounding communities,” the service wrote in an update on its website.
The RDOS is advising anyone who needs help evacuating pets or livestock to call Alert Canada at 250-809-7152. Desert Park in Osoyoos is accepting horses and livestock at no cost. And the old animal shelter in Penticton is also accepting displaced pets.
From April 1 through Aug. 1, the BC Wildfire Service has responded to 1,260 wildfires throughout B.C., 27 per cent of which were caused by people, the Wildfire Service said on Thursday.