Residents living near Becker Lake in the North Okanagan are breathing a sigh of relief as crews get the upper hand on the Becker Lake wildfire, east of Vernon, B.C.
On Monday evening, the Regional District of North Okanagan and the District of Coldstream rescinded evacuation alerts in the area.
The wildfire, discovered on Saturday, is 35 hectares in size and classified as “being held,” meaning it’s not expected to spread beyond its existing boundaries.
There was no new growth of the fire Monday, according to the BC Wildfire Service, and 41 firefighters, two helicopters and skimmers are involved in the firefight.
The aerial attack was delayed by two hours on Saturday because of a drone in the area.
“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 were grounded until the air space was clear.
Meanwhile, the Kinloch and Kalavista boat launches at Becker Lake will reopen on Tuesday.
“The District thanks residents and visitors for their understanding during these critical times as we support emergency personnel and first responders in the region,” the District of Coldstream said in an emailed statement.
“Please be advised that the boat launches may be closed in the future should the need again rise to support firefighting efforts in the region.”
There are 301 active wildfires burning in B.C., including 98 fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre, which includes the Okanagan region.
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