Old lightning strike, new wildfire
A lightning strike earlier this month is believed to be responsible for a small wildfire that flared to life Tuesday afternoon about two kilometres northwest of Okanagan Falls.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire on Mount Hawthorne was pegged at 1.4 hectares in size, according to BC Wildfire Service spokeswoman Melanie Bibeau.
While members of the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department helped with the initial response Tuesday, just a single BC Wildfire Service crew remained at the site Wednesday.
Bibeau said the cause of the fire is believed to be a lightning strike that occurred during unsettled weather earlier this month.
The fire likely smoldered until blossoming into smoke and flames.
“With the temperatures getting so hot, that can happen,” said Bibeau.
The service responded to another fire Wednesday morning on Mount McLellan, approximately one kilometre northeast of the Mount Hawthorn blaze, and managed to hold it to just 0.1 hectares.
It marked the third wildfire of the week in the Penticton area, following one on Monday afternoon in the Sage Mesa neighbourhood a few kilometres north of the city.
The fire, which was due west of the Pine Hills Golf Course, scorched approximately 0.75 hectares before it was stopped in its tracks by a pair of heli-tankers.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire danger rating was listed as high throughout most of the Okanagan and there were just four active fires burning with the Kamloops Fire Centre – a far cry from the 87 that were burning at this time last year.