Dozens of people living near the Southern Okanagan community of Keremeos were allowed to return home Wednesday, as crews made progress in their fight of an out-of-control wildfire. But a forecast of stormy weather may mean new trouble.
The BC Wildfire Service said the eased evacuation orders came after overnight crews used drones map out hotspots around the 6,700-hectare Keremeos Creek fire.
While residents of about 54 properties between Twin Lakes and an area just north of Olalla were allowed to return to their homes, more than 490 properties in Olalla itself, Apex and sections of Green Mountain Road remain under an evacuation order.
More than 900 other properties remain on evacuation alert, and Highway 3A remains closed to through traffic.
While growth of the fire has slowed and has trended away from Highway 3A and inhabited areas, crews continue to face challenges with the fire, particularly on its western flank, fire information officer Mikhail Elsay said Wednesday.
Crews are also on high alert due to potentially stormy weather expected in the area.
“The weather forecast is showing we will potentially see a potential lightning event, it could come up through the central part of the province this afternoon and this (Wednesday) evening, and it could come with some erratic winds and rain as well,” he said.
“We are tracking that system, we have secured the lines where we can, we have guard where we can, it’s basically when the system shows up, we’ll react accordingly.”
The Okanagan was not the only B.C. region facing fire risk from stormy weather on Wednesday. The BC Wildfire Service said it was battling multiple new fires in the Coastal Fire Centre, including 10 in north and central Vancouver Island due to lightning.
The service said it had 1,371 personnel deployed to active fires, with another 512 on standby ahead of anticipated stormy weather across southern B.C. It said it had 83 helicopters and 33 airtankers available, and that wildfire crews from Alberta were arriving Wednesday to support.
Meanwhile, one of the first serious fires of the season, the Nohmin Creek wildfire near Lytton, was taken off B.C.’s “wildfires of note” list Wednesday. The southern, northeastern and eastern flanks of that fire were stable with no active fire behaviour, the wildfire service said.
The active portion of the fire, which is entirely within the Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park, is being co-managed by the Lytton First Nation and the BC Wildfire Service.
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