Evacuation orders issued for wildfire burning southwest of Penticton
Posted Jul 30, 2022 1:52 pm.
An evacuation order has been issued for an area threatened by a wildfire burning about 21 kilometres southwest of Penticton.
The order, issued by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, covers Green Mountain Road between Highway 3A to the south, Apex Mountain Road to the north and in the general vicinity of Ford Lake.
(Photo credit: Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen)
Melanie Bibeau with the BC Wildfire Services says the fire is around 150 hectares in size as of Saturday.
“We do have ground and structure protection personnel who remained on site overnight from this fire. And we currently have 10 personnel on scene,” said Bibeau.
EOC Update: RDOS hosting live video update July 30, 2022, 2:00 pm PST re: Keremeos Creek wildfire (K50863) Watch: https://t.co/0rOTolwngY Media Webex link will be sent via email. RDOS Operations supporting on-site. @BCGovFireInfo @alert_canada pic.twitter.com/Cy9Mdmy3Y0
— RDOS EOC (@EmergMgtRDOS) July 30, 2022
Bibeau adds an additional 40 members were incoming.
The cause of the blaze has not been determined, and the BC Wildfire Service says it is displaying aggressive behaviour.
EOC Update: Evacuation ORDER issued for 21 Electoral Area I Green Mountain Road the vicinity of Ford Lake July 29, 2022, 9:30 pm @BCGovFireInfo https://t.co/V7IsKEkbwc pic.twitter.com/zaDio0Iejy
— Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (@RDOSinfo) July 30, 2022
The service says the fire is in an area that is inoperable for air tanker and heavy machinery support.
Currently, 10 BC Wildfire Service personnel, two structural protection personnel and two helicopters are on site, with additional personnel en route.
All the latest updates on the evacuation order can be found on the Emergency Operations Centre website.
Related links:
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Several lightning-sparked fires burn in B.C.’s Southern Interior
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B.C. long weekend heat wave, travel delays, and safety tips
Environment Canada’s lightning danger map shows dozens of strikes early Friday in the Kamloops, North Thompson, Shuswap, and North Columbia regions.
The BC Wildfire Service says of the 51 active fires in the province right now, almost half were sparked by lightning.
Fourteen more temperature records were broken in B.C. Thursday and the River Forecast Centre says the heat is melting glaciers and high-level snowpacks, prompting a flood watch for the Chilcotin and Chilko rivers west of Williams Lake, as well as the Lillooet River and its tributaries around Pemberton
Updates can be found at the BC Wildfire Service.
