Fire Department Information Officer Karley Desrosiers said the fire started around 1 a.m. on Friday and while the agency was aware that a truck had caught fire in a “vehicle incident” along the highway, a connection between the vehicle and the fire has not been officially confirmed. The BC Wildfire Service says the fire is not an immediate road jump hazard. The fire has charred about 30 hectares so far, less than half a kilometer square, along the route south of Cawston. Helicopters are supporting 34 firefighters to bring the blaze on the west side of the mountain under control, he said, adding that it is slowing as it reaches rockier terrain and is burning between the sites of two fires from previous seasons. The evacuation warning issued by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen covers properties along Sumac Highway and Road, west of Mount Richter.
Wind is the main fire factor lately: the fire service
Severe thunderstorms have rolled into BC’s interior, causing hundreds of lightning strikes in areas already classified as high to extreme fire danger. The fire service has warned that gusty winds associated with storms could increase fire behavior, but says containment lines are firm on the fire’s southern and eastern flanks closer to the communities of Keremeos and Olalla. Storm clouds form over the South Okanagan on Thursday as seen from Kelowna, BC (Tom Popyk/CBC) At the height of Thursday’s storms, Environment Canada said Kamloops recorded wind gusts of 82 kilometers per hour, while gusts in Merritt reached nearly 60 kilometers per hour and the city was drenched by more than 23 millimeters of rain, causing some localized flooding. Storms Wednesday also brought heavy rain to areas around Lytton that were damaged by wildfires last year, causing mudslides to cover the Trans-Canada Highway, closing the route between Lytton and Spences Bridge. Severe thunderstorm watches remain in effect for much of the southeastern interior, from the Similkameen and Okanagan regions to the East Kootenays. Heading into the weekend, Desrosiers said conditions are expected to be a bit drier, but also cooler, until temperatures are expected to rise again next Tuesday. Wind has been the main driver of fire behavior lately, he said, and is not expected to pick up again until later next week.
New fires remain small
The fire department’s website shows 69 new fires in the past two days, including a suspected lightning-started fire near Monte Lake, the same area where a massive fire destroyed homes last year. New fires remain small, but more lightning is forecast for areas of southern and southeastern B.C., such as Penticton, where a 67-square-kilometre wildfire has prompted evacuation orders and warnings. As of Friday afternoon, there were seven fires across B.C. — fires that are highly visible or endanger public safety. A new wildfire near Chetwynd, BC, called the Hasler Flats fire, was upgraded to a large fire on Thursday. The BC Wildfire Service said the fire, although less than one square kilometer in size, is “highly visible” from Highway 97.
