Contributed
UPDATE: 8:37 p.m
BC Fire Service crews are conducting small-scale planned burns along Highway 3A to help fight the Keremeos Creek Wildfire.
In a social media post Tuesday evening, BCWS said wildland fire personnel are working alongside structural firefighters to implement the fires.
“Crews will use a manual ignition technique and structure protection equipment will protect power poles and mitigate impacts to the highway,” BCWS said.
“The goal of this is to reduce the fire to a pre-existing control line by removing unburned fuel between the fire perimeter and Highway 3A. This will also help minimize the potential for detection.”
Highway 3A has been closed to traffic since Tuesday afternoon, with no estimated time of reopening.
The Keremeos Creek wildfire, burning southwest of Penticton, is estimated at 2,800 hectares and has forced the evacuation of more than 320 properties.
In an update Tuesday, fire information officer Bryan Zandberg said Tuesday’s cooler temperatures have helped crews take more aggressive steps to fight the fire.
There are about 230 members of the BCWS and fire departments across the Interior assigned to the wildfire.
BC Fire Service crews and structural firefighters are currently working together to implement small-scale planned burns along Highway 3A. pic.twitter.com/eKcdEvgJ8t
— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 3, 2022
UPDATE: 3:20 p.m
Weather conditions in the Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton are allowing firefighters to attack more aggressively.
In a live update Aug. 2, BC Wildfire Service information officer Bryan Zandberg said cooler temperatures Tuesday have helped the fight.
“We’re not seeing the fire take off. There’s been a little bit of spiciness as we say on Highway 3A that I’m hearing this afternoon, but we have a lot more personnel out,” Zandberg said, referring to the activity of the fire near the road connecting Penticton and Keremeos.
This road has been closed since Tuesday afternoon with no estimated time of reopening.
Conditions have been tough for crews to attack the 2,800-hectare fire that has forced the evacuation of more than 320 properties.
“It’s such a narrow canyon, and people live right there under the ponderosa pines. So we keep putting a lot of effort into monitoring those areas and every time something comes up that we’re not happy with, [we’re] knocking him back,” Zandberg said.
He said crews are shifting to be “much, much more aggressive” on the fire, now that temperatures and conditions are cooperating and there are enough boots on the ground — 229, to be exact, made up of BCWS staff and members of departments of firemen from all over the interior.
In the town of Apex Mountain, which has been evacuated, crews are hard at work using the ski resort’s snow cannons.
“They have nine or ten of them set up around the lower village area extending towards their quad and triple chair and the idea behind it is to protect the main assets of the Apex Resort… the chairlifts, the restaurants, the ski shops, the cafes,” explained Molly Raine, fire prevention officer with Apex Volunteer Fire Rescue.
“They’re currently soaking the surrounding areas, but they can also quickly turn to look at the buildings and help soak them.”
Zandberg said the outlook is positive for strong action on the wildfire moving forward, but warned it could be a long road ahead.
“Given where it’s burning, it’s going to be burning in some of this high country probably for a while. But that doesn’t mean we can’t really calm things down … So we’re going to continue to act really, really hard,” he said Zandberg.
“Now we’re seeing an increase in fire behavior in the province. So that’s also something to be aware of. But right now, we have a good level of resources and there’s still more to come. So we’re going to keep going. Stay really aggressive and work to deliver on the plans we have to address the current footprint of the fire and the critical values at risk in this area.”
For more information on resources for people threatened by wildfire, click here.
UPDATE: 2 p.m
The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen will have a live update at 2pm on the status of the Keremeos Creek wildfires.
Casey Richardson
UPDATE: 11:30 a.m
Castanet News reporter Casey Richardson was live on the scene at Yellow Lake with an update and a look at conditions on the Keremeos Creek wildfire. Watch the footage above.
Officials have just announced that Highway 3A will be closed between the Highway 97 interchange and Keremeos until further notice.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Emergency Operations Center (RDOS EOC) has developed a procedure for residents under evacuation orders to temporarily gain access to their properties.
Residents must apply for temporary access before 5pm to gain access the following day. Residents in the Evacuation Order area can apply for a temporary access permit by email [email protected] or by calling 250-490-4231. Temporary access permissions are only for emergencies, which are life or death issues.
The purpose of temporary permits is to provide a way for residents to access their properties in a safe and organized manner. RCMP and other private security control access and protect evacuated properties. All residents without permitted access are asked to stay well away from properties under evacuation orders.
Photo: contributed
Southwest Canton of the Keremeos Creek Wildfire on Tuesday