UPDATE – Fire investigators were looking into the cause of the Blue Grouse Mtn. fire and say the blaze is contained. Hot spots will be doused through the night.
UPDATE – The first person to spot the fire says it appears to have started from an unattended campfire.
Shawn Lafond was driving by with a friend on Westside Road when they noticed smoke and a flicker of flames.
They checked it out and phoned 9-1-1 after finding a campsite with no-one around and a smouldering fire pit.
Lafond says he was told by another person in the area campers has been at the site for about three weeks.
UPDATE – There are now four fixed-wing aircraft and two bucketing helicopters helping fight the Blue Grouse Mountain wildfire.
There are also 26 Forest Service firefighters on the ground.
The latest size estimate is 2.5 hectares.
Two provincial fire investigators are being sent to the scene to try to determine the cause.
Provincial crews are assisting firefighters from West Kelowna and Wilsons Landing in tackling a small grass fire at the base of Blue Grouse Mountain along Westside Road north of Kelowna.
The blaze was reported at about 1:00 p.m. Tuesday.
The BC Wildfire Service dispatched two air-tankers and a three-member Initial Attack crew to the site.
A helicopter is also dropping water onto the flames.
There were early concerns the fire could run up a hillside and into a gully.