The Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton, British Columbia, grew overnight and jumped a road, forcing dozens of properties to be evacuated after it started Friday.
It is among a large number of fires that have been ignited across the province after a week of extreme temperatures. Of the 70 active wildfires in British Columbia, 43 have started in the past two days.
The wildfire near Penticton is now burning at 1.5 square kilometers, a 50 percent increase from Friday night. Most of the growth occurred after the fire jumped east across Green Mountain Road, according to the BC Wildfire Service.
Residents of 21 properties near Green Mountain Road were ordered to leave by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, with another 25 prepared to evacuate as of 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
“We’re going to continue to see hot and dry conditions for the next few days as this wildfire develops,” said Aidan Coray, fire information officer. “As long as the fuels have been dry, they will continue to dry out as we see [relative humidity] decreases further and the hot, dry weather continues.”
Coray said it’s difficult to predict where the fire will grow and whether it will move toward Penticton given how volatile the situation is. She said security officers at the structure remain on site.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. It is currently burning 21 km southwest of the city of Penticton, which is located in the southern interior of British Columbia.
The Lytton fire continues to burn
The Keremeos Creek wildfire is the second “significant fire” in British Columbia, meaning it is particularly visible or poses a threat to public safety.
The first of the season, the Nohomin Creek Fire northwest of Lytton, continues to burn 18.1 square miles (29.1 square kilometers) after it started on July 14. Lytton was almost destroyed by a raging bushfire just over a year ago.
The Nohomin Creek Fire forced nearly 100 people to evacuate their homes and at least 10 buildings were destroyed. Some of the evacuation orders issued by local authorities have been lifted, but many remain in effect as of Saturday.
Carly Derosiers, fire information officer, said the fire is not expected to grow significantly due to suppression efforts, but fire activity is still being seen on the northwest side of the fire.
“We are seeing an expected drop in humidity today [Saturday] compared to yesterday,” she said. “That will probably affect the fire’s behavior and it may burn more actively than yesterday, but that’s not unexpected.”
The Nohomin Creek wildfire burns in western Lytton on July 15. The bushfire service says growth is likely only in the northwest part of the fire. (Maggie McPherson/CBC)
The fire also closed the nearby Stein Valley Nlaka’pamux Heritage Park. Without a sustained cooling trend, Desrosiers says the fire will likely continue to burn.
“I would say the biggest challenge right now, here and elsewhere, is the heat,” she said.
Thousands of lightning bolts
According to the forest fire service, nearly 4,000 lightning strikes have struck the province in the past two days, most of them inland.
Currently, 45 percent of wildfires in British Columbia this season are caused by lightning, with 48 percent caused by human activity. Most of the province is under “high” fire danger as of Saturday.
The province of British Columbia was struck by lightning 3,995 times from the thunderstorms yesterday and last night. The majority (nearly 2,500) were at the Kamloops fire station, with the remainder at the Prince George, Southeast and Caribou fire stations. pic.twitter.com/MtMXBMIM7i
—@BCGovFireInfo
While open fire bans are in place across the province, small campfires are still allowed, which means keeping a fire under half a meter in height and width and keeping water or a tool nearby to keep it under control.
Fire Information Officer Gene Strong said Friday it was unusual not to have a campfire ban until the end of the summer. Fire centers are closely monitoring the situation, Strong said, and a ban could be put in place if conditions change in the coming weeks.
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