West Kelowna wildfire now held, evacuation alerts rescinded

Prompt public response to a wildfire burning near Westside Road is being lauded by those working to douse the blaze.

BC Wildfire Service information officer Taylor Wallace said the Bald Range Creek wildfire, located on the west side of Okanagan Lake, is still only 4.08 hectares in size.

The fire is no longer out of control and is classified as being held.

Evacuation alerts related to the fire issued on Monday were also rescinded by mid-afternoon on Tuesday.

BC Wildfire has 10 personnel who’ve been working on it throughout Tuesday, with their attention focused on the southern flank of the fire.

1:48 Wildfire forces evacuations near Cranbrook

On Monday, though, the firefight was more intense, with air tankers and a water skimmer hitting it aggressively after it was first spotted, just after 6 p.m., until grounding time.

There’s currently an evacuation alert in place for 18 homes in the area, but Wallace said structures are not “imminently threatened” and the fire is much less visible now.

“We do want to thank the public for their diligence and reporting,” Wallace said.

“We received numerous amount of reports when this started yesterday and it was extremely helpful all of the photos we received, as well through our reporting app.”

Wallace said photos help operational staff make decisions about what resources are quickly needed.

While evacuation alerts for 18 properties between 3985 to 4069 Westside Road were rescinded, the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations team reminded residents that the Bald Range Creek Wildfire status remains out of control, and residents should be prepared in the event conditions should change.

Additionally, Westside Road has reopened to single-lane, alternating traffic between Secret Cove and Bella Vista Estates. For more information, visit DriveBC.ca.

With the rescinding of the evacuation alerts for the Bald Range Creek wildfire, emergency operations is no longer activated and operating.

The centre remains on standby and will be re-activated should another emergency require support and coordination.