In a dollop of good news, an evacuation order has been rescinded for one wildfire burning in B.C.’s Southern Interior.
On Thursday morning, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) rescinded the evacuation order for Electoral Area H because of the Brenda Creek blaze.
In all, the rescinded order affects 41 properties. Those properties are available on the RDOS website.
That fire is estimated at 824 hectares and is located around 40 kilometres west of West Kelowna, and south of the Okanagan Connector.
It was classified as out of control earlier Thursday, but was updated to being considered held.
According to the BC Wildfire Service, being held indicates that the fire is not likely to spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries under the prevailing and forecasted conditions.
“The evacuation alert put in place on July 14, 2021, for a portion of the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area in response to the Brenda Creek wildfire is now rescinded,” said Central Okanagan Emergency Operations.
“This includes the area south of Highway 97C and northwest of Peachland. The rural area is made up mostly of Crown land, 18 properties with registered owners and three recreational campsites safe for the public.
A detailed map is available showing the rescinded Alert area at cordemergency.ca.
However, Emergency Operations noted that while the alert has been rescinded, “conditions in the Central Okanagan continue to be hot and dry. Residents and visitors should be vigilant and aware that the fire hazard remains extreme.”
Notably, winds on Thursday are forecast to be 10 to 15 km/h from the west, with afternoon gusts of 30 km/h in the afternoon.
The news comes on the heels of evacuation orders from the White Rock Lake wildfire being expanded.
Hundreds of homes are on evacuation orders because of that fire with even more under evacuation alert.