Update 11:00 a.m.
The BC Wildfire Service says the small wildfire burning near Oliver is not likely to spread.
Fire officials call it “being held” which means the fire service is not anticipating growth because of weather conditions and fire suppression tactics.
Twenty-six firefighters and two pieces of heavy equipment are on scene.
“Luckily with this fire there is a creek nearby which has kept a constant water flow via pump and this fire is 100 per cent guarded and 10 per cent wet-lined,” said Marla Catherall, fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service.
Original story:
As the south Okanagan recovers from flooding, a wildfire has sparked up nine kilometres east of Oliver.
The BC Wildfire Service says the Wolfcub Creek fire is 5.1 hectares in size and believed to be human-caused, as there was no lightning in the area when it ignited Monday evening.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Emergency Operations Centre says no evacuation orders or alerts were issued as no structures are threatened.
It’s believed the fire is burning in a remote, forested area near McKinney Road.
Area residents reported on social media that air tankers were scooping up water from Osoyoos Lake to fight the fire.
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“My brother and I sat on the roof of our house and watched them pick up water near the front of our house,” witness Christophe Ray told Global Okanagan.
The region is within the Kamloops Fire Centre and open fire prohibitions were implemented on May 15.
Specifically, prohibited activities at elevations below 1,200 metres will include:
* the burning of more than two open fires of any size at the same time
* stubble or grass fires of any size over any area
* the use of fireworks, sky lanterns, tiki torches (and similar kinds of torches), or burning barrels and cages of any size or description
* the use of binary exploding targets.
The ban covers all B.C. parks, Crown lands and private lands.
The prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes.
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