Highway 3A reopens near Keremeos as new fires spring up across southern B.C.

Improved fire conditions allowed officials to reopen Highway 3A near Keremeos, B.C., to through traffic Friday, but a series of thunderstorms has left wildfire crews facing several new threats in southern B.C.

Crews have held the Keremeos Creek wildfire at 6.7 square kilometres in size for several days now, and the BC Wildfire Service said the highway was no longer under threat between Upper Bench Road and the junction of Highway 97.

“It’s a good time for a reminder that 3A opened up again at 10 a.m. but our crews are still on the road, so for safety, take it slow, watch out for firefighters and don’t stop for photos,” fire information officer Shaelee Stearns said.

Residents of the community of Olalla were allowed to return home Thursday, but an evacuation order for 273 properties and an evacuation alert for 428 more remain in effect.

A few kilometres to the south along Highway 3, crews were busy Friday dealing with the new 40-hectare Richter Creek wildfire.

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The Keremeos Fire Department and 33 BC Wildfire Service personnel were deployed to the suspected human-caused fire, which was burning about 17 kilometres east of Osoyoos.

Meanwhile, Thursday’s dramatic thunderstorms, which delivered more than 2,600 lightning strikes in the Southern Interior, have resulted in at least 10 new fires in the Southeast Fire Centre

“Ground crews and aviation resources are being strategically deployed to new incidents in a priority sequence as they are discovered,” the wildfire service said.

“As of this morning, these newly discovered fires have been initial attack targets; meaning they are able to be attacked directly.”

The new fires came as Environment Canada issued yet another round of severe thunderstorm watches for southern B.C., running from the Similkameen to the province’s eastern border.

The wildfire service said it expected to discover new fires from the weather system in the days to come.

Across the province, there were 108 fires burning Friday, 64 of which were started in the last two days.

Since the start of the wildfire season, there have been 634 fires in B.C., burning nearly 340 square kilometres.