A growing wildfire near a mountain resort in British Columbia prompted an evacuation order for the village Monday morning.
Burning southwest of Penticton, the Keremeos Creek wildfire was measured at 437 hectares Sunday evening. It is classified as out of control.
While 25 properties were placed under evacuation orders over the weekend, orders for hundreds more were issued Monday, this time in Apex Mountain Village. Those in the area are told to leave immediately and expect the RCMP to help expedite the process.
Dozens of other properties are under evacuation alert.
The fire was discovered Friday and officials say it has been a challenge to fight because much of the blaze “is located in terrain that is unusable for air tankers and heavy machinery maintenance.”
Local fire departments, including Keremeos, Naramata and Summerland, sent crews and trucks to focus on protecting the structures. At least one structure was destroyed.
Over the weekend, Apex Mountain Resort deployed its snow cannons to spray water on its buildings and infrastructure in an attempt to keep them from catching fire from wind-blown embers.
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