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UPDATE: Perimeter set around forest fire near homes in Joe Rich

Bryon McLuckie / Global Okanagan

JOE RICH, B.C. — A forest fire burning in east Kelowna Sunday came alarmingly close to homes.

It started in Joe Rich near the 8,000 block of Sun Valley Road just before 1:30 Sunday afternoon and reportedly came as close at 600 feet from houses.

Forestry crews were called in to help local firefighters with air tankers and water bombers dousing the fire from the sky and extra crews on the ground.

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The terrain in that area is steep which made it hard for fire crews to attack the flames. Heavy wind also made the fight that much harder.

A fire guard is up around the perimeter of the blaze which at last word was 4 hectares.

There is good news for home owners. The wind shifted the flames away from houses.

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There’s no word on how the fire started, but because there was no lightning in the area, it’s believed to be human caused.

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