OKANAGAN FALLS, B.C. — Hundreds of people south of Penticton, B.C., have been ordered to immediately evacuate the area as firefighters responded to a rapidly evolving wildfire.
The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen's emergency operations centre issued the evacuation order covering 319 properties in the Heritage Hills area on Tuesday afternoon.
The BC Wildfire Service said crews are responding to the fire on Christie Mountain about six kilometres north of the community of Okanagan Falls, on the east side of Skaha Lake.
The fire is estimated at 250 hectares and firefighters on the ground are being supported by air tankers.
The service said the situation was "rapidly evolving" and asked everyone to stay clear of the area to avoid interfering with the operation.
The order asks residents of the Heritage Hills area to leave with pets and critical items.
"We anticipate we will see further growth once we are able to get a more accurate track of the fire," the service said in a tweet.
The fire is among dozens the BC Wildfire Service is fighting but was the only one upgraded to a "fire of note" on Tuesday.
Ten wildfires in the Pemberton area north of Whistler were burning but not threatening any properties, the service said.
A 10-hectare fire southeast of Lillooet, B.C., was smouldering with no open flame but was considered out of control. The service suspects it was human caused, unlike most of the others.
Ground crews, air tankers and helicopters attacked it Monday and multiple crews and heavy equipment stopped it from growing overnight.
Twenty-two firefighters and one helicopter remained on site Tuesday.
Firefighters have tackled dozens of wildfires after weekend thunderstorms left a trail of hot spots.
Figures from the service show that among 109 active fires in the province, 95 were started in the last few days.
Most are burning in the southeast district, where the service says crews have been battling 25 fires primarily around the Arrow and Kootenay lake regions.
Two fires were visible from Canal Flats and Wasa, north of Cranbrook.
Hot, dry weather has been a key factor in the new fires and most were caused by lightning.
Crews are assessing all of the fires by ground and air and will continue to strategically fight the fires, the service said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2020.
