New wildfires fought near Penticton

Two new wildfires are burning near Penticton in B.C.’s southern Interior.

Nicole Bonnett, of the B.C. Wildfire Service, said Saturday the larger of the two fires, burning south of Penticton on the edge of the community of Okanagan Falls, remained within the local fire department’s jurisdiction.

Fire crews from Okanagan Falls and the B.C. Wildfire Service battled the blaze Friday night, and a skeleton crew of local firefighters stayed on scene overnight, Okanagan Falls fire chief Rob Oliver said Saturday.

Bonnett said the service’s fire origin and cause team returned to the scene Saturday to look into what ignited the wildfire.

“The fire is believed to be a result of some sort of human activity, so they’ll be completing an investigation out there,” Bonnett said from Kamloops.

The wildfire on the outskirts of Okanagan Falls is less than a square kilometre in size and about half a kilometre away from the area’s regional library.

Oliver said it appeared the fire started near the Skaha Lake outlet dam before burning through grass and sagebrush and up a bluff.

“A bomber and a helicopter came out right away. Our crew was on the initial attack, and we got it stopped and a guard around the whole thing,” he said. “It’s basically just mop-up.” A smaller wildfire burning near the western edge of Penticton was being monitored for hotspots, but was expected to be extinguished Saturday, Bonnett said. An air-quality advisory is in effect for the city, though Bonnett believes this is likely due to the smoky air from fires across the province.