Thick plumes of smoke rising into the air near the Apex mountain resort in British Columbia are making the threat clear to hundreds of people who are under evacuation alert due to a wildfire in the area.
“Yeah, we’re getting worried now,” Chris Martens said as he loaded his truck with important items in case he and his neighbors were ordered to leave the area.
The Keremeos Creek wildfire is burning about 21 kilometers southwest of Penticton and is classified as out of control.
Twenty-five nearby properties are already under evacuation orders.
“We were on a journey. We just found out about it yesterday from our friends and the next thing you know we’ve been getting a lot of messages,” Martens said. “So we’re back home and here we are getting things organized to go on another trip again.”
So far, only four families have registered with emergency services in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen — and people were still trying to get into the evacuation zone on Sunday.
“I’m going to drive by now,” resident Mark Flood said as he stood in front of the Road Closed sign. “I hope I won’t meet with any resistance. I will not stay there today. I’ll just check my seat to see what’s going on down there.
Since it was discovered on Friday, the Keremeos Creek fire has grown to nearly 500 hectares.
“I would expect that to increase in the coming days given the conditions we’ve seen in the area,” said Jean Strong of the British Columbia Wildfire Service. “It’s hot and dry and the terrain is pretty steep for our crews to access.”
An incident management team has been assigned to the fire, which is being attacked by eight helicopters and 29 front-line personnel from the British Columbia Wildfire Service.
The area burning is too steep for fixed-wing aircraft to perform effective missions.
Local fire departments, including Keremeos, Naramata and Summerland, sent crews and trucks to focus on protecting the structures.
Apex Mountain Resort has deployed its snow cannons to spray water on its buildings and infrastructure in an attempt to prevent them from catching fire from wind-blown embers.
A total of 357 properties in the area remain under an evacuation alert, with residents told to prepare to leave hastily if the fire continues to creep in their direction.
“We know they get nervous. It’s only three to four kilometers from a really high-density area,” said Bill Newell, the regional district’s chief administrative officer. “So we are currently actively planning an evacuation of Apex.”
This is not considered necessary at the moment, but the situation may change quickly.
Add Comment