Separated by a highway that runs between them, two wildfires are burning close to each other in B.C.’s West Kootenay region.
The Aylwin Creek and Komonko Creek wildfires are separated by less than two km as they both burn on the east side of Slocan Lake.
Highway 6 also runs between the two fires, which are located five km south of Silverton and 10 km from New Denver.
And early Saturday, the highway was closed south of Silverton. Detours are available via highways 31A, 31 and 3.
The Aylwin Creek fire, burning along the shores and hills of Slocan Lake, was sized at 121 hectares as of Saturday morning.
Get daily Okanagan news
Meanwhile, the Komonko Creek, located just east of the Aylwin Creek blaze, was sized at 534 hectares, up from 450 hectares earlier Saturday morning.
The Central Kootenay regional district issued an evacuation order for many addresses and an evacuation alert for 14 properties for the Aylwin Creek blaze.
The two fires are both listed as out of control, with both having suspected causes of lightning.
To compound matters, a third wildfire is burning on the west side of Slocan Lake, and across the waters from Silverton.
The Nemo Creek fire is sized at 823 hectares and has spawned an evacuation order as well.
The BC Wildfire Service says due to prolonged dry conditions, with thunderstorms passing through the area, “residents can expect to continue to see increased overall wildfire activity across the region.”