Some B.C. wildfire evacuation orders lifted over the weekend but caution remains

The number of properties under evacuation orders and alerts because of wildfires in British Columbia ticked down over the weekend.

Emergency Management BC says 28 orders were in place Monday, covering more than 3,900 properties, while residents of another 6,255 properties were told to be ready to leave on short notice.

That’s down from 4,100 properties on evacuation orders and 6,731 on evacuation alerts on Sunday as firefighting crews across the province were aided by cooler weather.

The number of active wildfires was down by one to 232, including 17 fires that were either highly visible or posed a potential threat to public safety.

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The BC Wildfire Service says conditions were expected to be favourable today for a large-scale planned ignition at the northeast corner of the large and destructive White Rock Lake fire, which continued to burn out of control west of Okanagan Lake.

An update posted to the service’s website says the burn would be low intensity and a buffer that’s free of natural fuels has been constructed around the roughly 30-kilometre square area.

The fire service says the local fire department was also working to contain a small spot fire sparked Sunday night south of the Mt. Law fire near West Kelowna.

The service otherwise says good progress has been made in recent days on that roughly nine-square kilometre fire, as well as the 200-kilometre square Nk’Mip Creek fire that remains classified as burning out of control north of Osoyoos.

The Skaha Creek wildfire, burning southwest of Penticton, B.C., remains a concern for some residents in the area.

The wildfire, first discovered on Aug. 28, was described by locals as looking like a volcano had erupted as bright orange flames illuminated the night sky.

READ MORE: Cooler temperatures help slow growth of Skaha Creek wildfire near Penticton, B.C.

Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from large swaths of the mountainside above Penticton Regional Airport (YYF) on Monday morning.

The blaze is now highly visible from the entire City of Penticton, Highway 97 and surrounding communities.

-with files from Shelby Thom