Evacuation alert issued for wildfire east of Vernon

A wildfire burning east of Vernon that started Saturday is currently listed at approximately 35 hectares.

According to the BC Wildfire Service on Sunday morning, the fire, which was tabbed at 10 hectares on Saturday afternoon, had no overnight growth.

A BC Wildfire spokesperson said 40 firefighters are on scene, as are local fire departments.

Global News has a camera pointed at the wildfire, and smoke is still rising from the fire, though considerably less than what was rising on Saturday afternoon when it quickly grew in size.

However, on Sunday afternoon, just before 2 p.m., the Regional District of North Okanagan and the District of Coldstream issued an evacuation alert for the following areas:

District Of Coldstream

• Ravine Dr.,
• Ranchland Pl.,
• Cypress Dr.,
• Ridgemont Dr.,
• Rockland Dr.
• Upland Dr.,
• Upper Crestview,
• Fairmont Pl.
• Crestview Dr.,
• Jeffrey Dr.,
• Scenic Dr.,
• Auburn Ct.,
• Hymar Pl.,
• North Side Buchanan Rd. (8600blk- 9800blk),
• Midland Pl., Nickle Rd.,
• Upland Hts.

RDNO- Area C

• Robin Rd.,
• Galiano (715-1294),
• Boss Ck Rd. (3965- onwards),
• French Rd.,
• Greenwood Rd.,
• South Side Hartnell RD.,
• Kingsview Rd.,
• Lynx Dr.

Aerial crews, including helicopters, are also involved in the fight, though for two hours on Saturday they had to stand down because of a drone in the area.

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“It’s extremely frustrating,” said BC Wildfire information officer Aydan Coray, “as (drones) impact our air operations.”

“That significantly impacted our firefighting efforts,” added information officer Noelle Kekula.

“People are curious. And they’re curious about the (wildfire) operations, especially when you see a fire (near) town like that.

“But what happens is when you see a drone in the air, we have to immediately — as of Nav Canada rules — ground our air operations.”

Kekula continued, saying planes and helicopters are grounded until the air space is clear.

“So when this is happening in the heat of the day, right in the heat when we were making gains with our air support, it was grounded,” said Kekula.

“So it’s a really critical time to get the retardant on the ground, get water on the ground with our air support to help and aid the crews. But with them grounded, it significantly impacted our operations.”

2:16 Coldstream, B.C., wildfire caught on video

After the article was published, though, a spokesperson for Nav Canada said BC Wildfire’s inference that Nav Canada grounds aircraft was incorrect.

“While Nav Canada may advise pilots of a drone presence, Nav Canada does not have any rules that would require the grounding of aircraft,” Nav Canada said in an email to Global News.

“Such a decision would be made by the aircraft operator in this instance. Regulations related to safe drone operations are established by Transport Canada.”

1:16 Clerke Road wildfire near Coldstream, B.C., considered held

In other fire news, the Clerke Road fire in Coldstream, which roared to life late Friday night, is still considered held after growing to 43 hectares.

BC Wildfire said 20 personnel were on scene Saturday, assisting the local fire department.

Viewer video sent to Global News shows the fire exploding in size along a steep hill, with emergency personnel responding to the blaze around 10:30 p.m.

By Saturday morning, crews had a handle on the blaze, with BC Wildfire saying it was considered held around 9 a.m.