The new Skaha Creek wildfire, burning southwest of Penticton, B.C., received some help from Mother Nature overnight in the way of cooler temperatures, decreasing fire activity.
Taylor MacDonald, an information officer with the BC Wildfire Service, said the blaze remains at 17 hectares in size and is burning out of control.
“We did have some good overnight recovery. There’s some higher relative humidity as well as cooler temperatures,” MacDonald said Sunday.
“We may see more activity today as we heat up. We are expecting to have a warmer day, so that may lead to more activity and more visibility from the surrounding communities.”
Twenty ground personnel and two helicopters were dedicated to the firefight on Sunday, after water skimmers hit the inferno hard on Saturday.
Residents and tourists watched in awe from the shores of Okanagan Lake as skimmers scooped water from the lake in a unison aerial display.
While the Skaha Hills subdivision is nearby, MacDonald said no homes are threatened.
The fire is believed to be human-caused.
Get daily National news
The City of Penticton said the firefighting response efforts may affect services at the Penticton Regional Airport as well as recreational boating on Skaha and Okanagan Lakes.
Anyone flying in or out of the airport over the next few days is advised to check yyf.penticton.ca for current flight information, the city said in a statement issued on Sunday.
Recreational boaters on Skaha and Okanagan lakes are also asked to stay close to shore to allow aircraft responding to the nearby wildfire to collect lake water.
The Penticton Indian Band and Westhills Aggregates are also supporting the response and improving road conditions to allow crews and equipment better access to the fire site.
“The band would like to remind the public to avoid areas and roadways close to the fire as it puts responders and the community at risk,” the statement said.
While cooler temperatures have assisted in firefighting efforts across the province, there are still 234 active fires burning in B.C.
Amid progress on the fires, another six evacuation orders were lifted on Friday — however residents of 3,325 properties remain forced from their homes.
Since the start of the 2021 wildfire service, 1,554 fires have burned more than 864,000 hectares of land.
-
![]()
How the next 48 hours could provide a break in B.C.’s wildfire weather -
![]()
B.C. wildfires: Antler fire growing away from community of Barkerville and Wells -
![]()
B.C. wildfires: Antler Creek fire grows, Shetland Creek still out of control -
![]()
B.C. wildfires: Evacuees from across the Cariboo on pins and needles -
![]()
B.C. wildfires: Scenes from the Shetland Creek and Williams Lake fires -
![]()
B.C. wildfires: Close call for Williams Lake as out of control fire reaches edge of community -
![]()
Wildfires burning around B.C. has communities on edge -
![]()
B.C. wildfires: Shetland Creek fire continues to grow -
![]()
Several structures burned by Shetland Creek blaze -
![]()
B.C. wildfires: Shetland Creek blaze explodes in size
Comments