A massive fire, spurred on by windy conditions, burned five summer residences near Okanagan Lake on Friday afternoon.
The blaze happened in the Smith Crescent area, along Westside Road, and involved two trailers and three cabins.
At the height of the fire, around 4:30 p.m., large plumes of smoke could be seen across Okanagan Lake. Witnesses say flames shot metres into the air, threatening nearby trees.
Fifteen crew members with Okanagan Indian Band Fire Rescue were assisted by crews from the Armstrong and the North Westside fire departments.
No one was injured in the incident.
When crews arrived, two trailers were fully involved. Blowing winds then pushed the fire into two adjacent cabins and a third to the south.
“It made firefighting a little more difficult because the flames were going across and it was pretty intense,” said David Lawrence, fire chief for the Okanagan Indian Band.
“The flames were halfway up the trees, so it was quite the fire.”
Lawrence said the damage could have been worse, as burning cabins and trailers can trigger neighbouring structures to automatically ignite.
“Once we got here, we put up a barrier of water so (the fire) couldn’t go any further,” said Lawrence.
One witness said the fire quickly grew because of the wind.
After being alerted by a neighbour of the fire, Steve Tipper said “boom, it just took off. It was horrible. It just ate up the cabins as you can see.”
“So when (the firefighters arrived), it was good to see them show up.”
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