It was good news on Saturday for some Southern Interior residents affected by the massive Crater Creek wildfire that’s burning near the village of Keremeos.
An evacuation order for six properties in Electoral Area G was rescinded, with those homes now on evacuation alert.
However, the out-of-control fire is now mapped at 37,000 hectares, up from 22,000 hectares on Friday afternoon. It has also crossed the border into Washington state.
Also, the number of properties on evacuation alerts stayed roughly the same at 195 (up from 189) with 13 properties on evacuation order (down from 19).
According to the BC Wildfire Service, 65 personnel are on scene, along with aerial resources and heavy equipment.
Elsewhere, the Upper Park Rill Creek blaze southeast of Okanagan Falls was still estimated at 1,090 hectares – the same size it was Friday evening, though it was only discovered that morning, shortly after 6 a.m.
BC Wildfire says 35 firefighters are on scene, along with structure protection personnel.
The fire is believed to be human-caused.
It has also spawned evacuation alerts affecting 246 addresses along with 257 properties under evacuation order.