The Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton, B.C., grew overnight and jumped a highway, with dozens of properties under evacuation orders after it started Friday.
It is among a large number of fires that broke out across the province after a week of extreme temperatures. Of BC’s 70 active wildfires, 43 started in the past two days.
The wildfire near Penticton is now burning in an area of 1.5 square kilometers, 50% more than Friday night. Most of the growth was seen after the fire jumped east across Green Mountain Road, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Residents of 21 properties near Green Mountain Road were ordered to leave across the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District, with 25 more on evacuation alert as of 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
“We will continue to see warm and dry conditions over the next few days as this wildfire develops,” said Aydan Coray, a fire information officer. “While the fuels have been dry, they will continue to dry as we see [relative humidity] declines further, and the warm, dry weather continues.”
Coray said it’s difficult to predict where the fire will grow and whether it will move toward Penticton, given how volatile the situation is. He said structural protection officers remain at the scene.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. It is currently burning 21 km southwest of the city of Penticton, which is located in the southern interior of BC.
The fire near Lytton continues to burn
The Keremeos Creek wildfire is the second “prominent fire” in BC, meaning it is particularly visible or poses a threat to public safety.
The first of the season, the Nohomin Creek fire northwest of Lytton, continues to burn in an area of 29.1 square kilometers after it started on July 14. Lytton was almost destroyed by bushfire just over a year ago.
The Nohomin Creek Fire has forced nearly 100 people to evacuate their homes and at least 10 structures have been destroyed. Some of the evacuation orders issued by local authorities have been downgraded, but many remain in effect as of Saturday.
Karley Desrosiers, a fire information officer, said significant fire growth is not expected due to suppression efforts, but fire activity is still being observed on the northwest flank of the fire.
“We’re seeing an expected decrease in humidity today [Saturday] compared to yesterday,” he said. “That will probably influence the fire’s behavior and it could be burning more actively than yesterday, but that’s not unexpected.”
The Nohomin Creek Wildfire burns on the west side of Lytton on July 15. The wildfire service says growth is only likely on the northwest flank of the fire. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)
The fire has also caused the closure of nearby Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park. Without a sustained cooling trend, Desrosiers says the fire is likely to continue burning.
“I would say the biggest challenge at the moment, here and elsewhere, is the heat,” he said.
Thousands of lightning bolts
According to the forest fire service, the province has suffered nearly 4,000 lightning strikes in the last two days, most of them in the interior.
Currently, 45 percent of BC’s wildfires this season were started by lightning, with 48 percent due to human activity. Most of the province has a “high” fire danger rating as of Saturday.
The province of BC was struck by lightning 3,995 times from yesterday’s and last night’s storms. The majority (about 2,500) were at the Kamloops Fire Station, with the remainder at the Prince George, Southeast and Cariboo Fire Stations. pic.twitter.com/MtMXBMIM7i
—@BCGovFireInfo
Although open fire bans are in place across the province, small campfires are still allowed, meaning keeping fires to less than half a meter in height and width, and keeping water or a tool nearby to maintain them under control.
Fire Information Officer Jean Strong said Friday it’s unusual not to have a campfire ban this late in the summer. Fire stations are closely monitoring the situation, Strong said, and a ban could be put in place if conditions change in the coming weeks.