Residents of about two dozen properties along a stretch of Highway 3 in southern British Columbia are being asked to prepare to evacuate immediately after a vehicle fire quickly spread to nearby grass and trees.
Wildfire Service Information Officer Carly Derosiers said the fire started around 1 a.m. Friday and while the service was aware that a truck had caught fire in a “vehicle incident” along the highway, the connection between the vehicle and the wildfire has not been officially confirmed.
The British Columbia Wildfire Service says the fire is not an immediate threat to jump the road.
The fire has charred about 30 hectares so far, less than half a kilometer square, along the route south of Cawston.
Helicopters are supporting 34 firefighters to contain the blaze on the west side of the mountain, she said, adding that it is slowing as it reaches rockier terrain and burns between the sites of two wildfires from previous seasons.
An evacuation warning issued by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen covers properties along the highway and Sumac Road, west of Richter Mountain.
Wind has been the main driver of fires lately: fire department
Severe thunderstorms are moving through the interior of British Columbia, causing hundreds of lightning strikes in areas already classified as high to extreme wildfire risk.
The wildfire service warned that gusty winds associated with thunderstorms could increase fire behavior, but said containment lines were stable along the fire’s southern and eastern flanks, closest to the communities of Keremeos and Olala.
Thunderclouds are forming over the South Okanagan on Thursday as seen from Kelowna, British Columbia (Tom Popik/CBC)
At the height of Thursday’s thunderstorms, Environment Canada said Kamloops recorded wind gusts of 82 kilometers per hour, while gusts in Merritt reached almost 60 kilometers per hour and the city was drenched with more than 23 millimeters rain causing some localized flooding.
Wednesday’s thunderstorms also brought heavy rain to areas around Lytton, which was damaged by wildfires last year, causing mudslides to cover the Trans-Canada Highway, closing the route between Lytton and Spence Bridge.
A severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect for much of the southeastern interior, from the Similkameen and Okanagan regions to the East Kootenays.
Heading into the weekend, Desrosiers said conditions are expected to be slightly drier but also cooler, until temperatures are expected to rise again next Tuesday.
Wind has been the main driver of the fires recently, she said, and is not expected to pick up again until later next week.
New fires remain small
The wildfire service’s website shows 69 new fires in the past two days, including one believed to have been caused by lightning near Monte Lake, the same area where a massive wildfire destroyed homes last year.
New fires remain small, but more lightning is forecast for areas in southern and southeastern British Columbia, such as Penticton, where a 67-square-kilometre wildfire prompted evacuation orders and warnings.
As of Friday afternoon, there were seven notable wildfires in British Columbia — fires that are particularly visible or pose a risk to public safety.
A new fire near Chetwynd, British Columbia, called the Hasler Flats fire, was upgraded to a landmark fire on Thursday. The British Columbia Wildfire Service said the fire, although less than one square kilometer in size, was “highly visible” from Highway 97.
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