A wildfire discovered burning in the North Okanagan is now being held.
According to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), a fire burning in the Creighton Valley area, just outside of Lumby, B.C. grew to roughly three hectares, 320,000 square feet, before firefighters stopped its growth.
As of Sunday evening, the BC Wildfire Service’s website reports the fire is ‘being held’ and not likely to spread beyond predetermined boundaries.
The fire is suspected to have been human caused.
According to the Lumby and District Fire Department, which is fighting the fire with assistance from BCWS, the fire probably started due to someone burning slash, which is leftover fuel from logging activities.
The fire department told Global News it is getting the “upper hand” in the battle.
The Creighton Valley area is 17 km east of Lumby.
Lumby Mayor Kevin Acton said he was caught by surprise hearing the news of the wildfire.
“It’s really early in the year for something like this. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before, actually,” Acton said.
He said the surrounding community is concerned, especially with this year’s total amount of snow and rainfall, so far.
“It’s been a very different year for us. The snowpack is good in the higher elevations but down low – it’s been quite dry for this time of year and the snow elevation is high up in the hills,” Acton said.
According to the B.C. government, the snow basin in the area is around 80 per cent of normal.
Global News has reached out to the BC Wildfire Service for an interview and more information.