A collective sigh of relief among residents and tourists in the South Okanagn after evacuation alerts were rescinded near the Eagle Bluff wildfire north of Oliver, B.C.
The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) announced just after noon on Sunday that nearly 250 properties in Electoral Area “C” are no longer under evacuation alert.
“The evacuation alerts that were issued on August 5 and on August 7 have been rescinded,” said Sean Vaisler, RDOS’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) director for the Eagle Bluff fire.
Osoyoos Indian Band chief Clarence Louie said the evacuation alerts on reserve land near the wildfire were also lifted, including the Okanagan Correctional Centre (OCC).
“It’s awesome news,” he said.
“For the handful of residents that were directly in the line of fire, it’s a huge relief.”
After a week of temperatures in the mid-30s, the Eagle Bluff wildfire’s growth was limited thanks to cooler temperatures on Saturday and Sunday morning.
“We didn’t experience too much growth overnight and yesterday, because we had such cool conditions,” said Kyla Fraser, information officer for the BC Wildfire Service.
Due to more accurate mapping, the size of the fire is now estimated at 2,632 hectares.
Vaisler said he was in contact with employees at Gallagher Lake Resort and reported that the resort manager was “ecstatic” to hear that the alert had been lifted.
Vaisler also said that “business should no longer be affected.”