Photo: RDOS
Evacuation and order warning zones on the south end of the Keremeos Creek fire have now reached Keremeos itself.
UDPATE 6 p.m
Following an evacuation order for the small Highway 3A community of Olalla, new evacuation alerts have been issued as far south as Keremeos.
The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District and the Village of Keremeos have put the northern part of the community on alert.
The evacuation alert extends as far south as the 3 Freeway and 7th Avenue within the township.
Residents on alert should pack their bags and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
DriveBC is also reporting that Highway 3A is closed again due to the fire.
Here is a full list of the affected addresses outside the municipal boundaries. Here is a list of the affected addresses on Keremeos.
Here is an interactive map of evacuation zones around the fire.
UPDATE: 5:30 p.m
The east side of Highway 3A in Olalla has been added to the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen evacuation order list, meaning the entire community is now being evacuated.
The Keremeos Creek Wildfire has been active in the area in recent days, and the BC Forest Fire Service is predicting wind in the forecast that could make the fire even more volatile.
Emergency support services are available to evacuees at the Penticton Emergency Operations Center at Princess Margaret Secondary School, 120 Green Avenue.
Call 250-486-1890 to access ESS services.
Any evacuee in need of transportation can call 250-490-4225.
Any evacuee concerned about their animals can contact ALERT animal rescue at 250-490-7152.
An evacuation order means you must leave the area immediately. For a complete list of evacuated properties and an interactive map to determine where your property is on the order or alert list, click here.
The Penticton Emergency Operations Center will remain open Thursday night to ensure that all those who need support are accommodated.
Photo: RDOS
Evacuation orders in Olalla.
Photo: Larissa Henschell
UPDATE 4 p.m
Almost 40 more properties have been added to the RDOS evacuation alert list, in the Farleigh and Marron Lakes areas.
Find the list of evacuation orders and alerts and what to do if your property is affected online here.
UPDATE: 3:20 p.m
The fight against the Keremeos Creek wildfire is far from over as crews work around the clock to battle both the fire and weather conditions while protecting local homes.
The forest fire broke out on Friday 29 July and has so far caused the loss of one home.
As of Thursday, August 4, 407 properties in southwest Penticton are under evacuation orders and hundreds more are on evacuation alerts.
All properties are located in Electoral Area G, Rural Keremeos or Electoral Area I, Rural Kaleden/Apex, within the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen.
RDOS Area G manager Tim Roberts said on Thursday his constituents are concerned about the highly visible wildfire.
“The concern, of course, is with embers and falling debris,” Roberts said.
“People are very concerned about their route to safety, whether or not they’ll find out and how quickly, if and when, during operational needs, Highway 3A is closed, whether or not they’re going to Penticton or if” We go south, the seven kilometers to Keremeos”.
An evacuation center has been set up in Penticton at Princess Margaret High School for anyone eligible to access emergency support services. There are currently no plans to have an evacuation center in Keremeos, according to RDOS CAO Bill Newell.
BC Wildfire crews are doing everything they can to keep as many properties as safe as possible, and while the cooler temperatures have helped, the weather forecast shows that wind is on the way.
“It’s still an uncontrolled fire. Very much an interface fire when you look at the fire and where the residences and ranches are,” BCWS Incident Commander Bryan Zandberg explained Thursday.
“He shot himself last night [on the] west side of Cedar Creek… Then we had 30 mph winds that pushed it down into some of the homes and ranches in the Cedar Creek area again just above Olalla. It blew everyone away, I’ll say that a lot.”
He said it was “a bit of a battle” to protect all the homes in the area, but they haven’t lost any more structures since a remote home was destroyed this past weekend.
As of Thursday afternoon, a total of 175 wildland firefighters are assigned to this fire working with 170 additional structural protection personnel from fire departments across British Columbia for a combined crew of 345 firefighters.
Containment work is underway on all aggressive edges of the fire. About 200 hectares of controlled burns have already been carried out, with the clear possibility that more will come, if conditions allow.
“The big concern is the cold front that’s coming in with these winds. That really helps us determine that we need to really button up all the areas where we’ve been active,” Zandberg said.
“We’re just seeing that the winds are variable depending on what part of the fire it’s in, and depending on the time of day. So there’s just a lot of local wind effects that make this fire different. Nooks and crannies and pockets and it we’ve been watching since we got to the fire.”
Zandberg said they expect a warming and drying trend into the weekend, with little precipitation.
“I mean, I felt a couple of drops today, but it’s nothing. So yeah, everything [those] matters are foremost on the mind right now.”
The wildfire is estimated at 4,250 hectares as of Thursday, but BCWS notes that may change when more accurate mapping becomes possible.
For anyone wondering about their evacuation order or alert status, or looking for resources, see the online RDOS interactive map here.
To contact the Emergency Operations Center for wildfire-related support, call 250-490-4225. For immediate emergencies, call 911.
UPDATE: 2 p.m
The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District in conjunction with the BC Wildfire Service is providing a live update on the Keremeos Creek Wildfire at 2pm Thursday.
Watch the stream above.
Casey Richardson
UPDATE: 12:50 p.m
More evacuation orders have been announced in connection with the Keremeos Creek wildfire.
More than 40 additional properties along Highway 3A on the west side of Olalla and south of Olalla are now under order, including the Sagewood (aka Ridgeview) and Olalla mobile home parks.
Residents must leave immediately. Find information about all the resources available in the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District, including an interactive map of all alerts and evacuation orders, online here or call 250-486-1890 for assistance. If you need transportation assistance, please call 250-490-4225.
Anyone concerned about evacuating their pets or farm animals can contact ALERT for assistance at 250-809-7152.
Members of the RCMP and other partner agencies will be going door-to-door to help expedite the evacuation.
A total of 175 wildland firefighters are assigned to this fire working with 170 additional structural protection personnel from BC fire departments for a combined crew of 345 firefighters.
Photo: RDOS. A list of new properties under evacuation orders as of Thursday afternoon.
UPDATE: 12 p.m
A smoky skies bulletin has been issued for the South Okanagan due to the Keremeos Creek Wildfire.
Activity increased overnight near Olalla on Highway 3A and smoke is very heavy in this area.
The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District and the BC Wildfire Service will provide a live update at 2pm, which will be in this story at that time.
For information on how to deal with smoke and who might be particularly vulnerable to adverse health effects, click here.
UPDATE: 11:30 a.m
Castanet reporter Casey Richardson is live on the scene with a look at the Keremeos Creek wildfire from Olalla.
Photo: BCWS
UPDATE: 10:15 a.m
An updated map for the Keremeos Creek wildfire is expected Thursday morning.
The estimated surface area of 4,250 hectares does not take into account fire growth overnight. A new perimeter map is expected shortly.
“Overnight, downslope winds in excess of 30 km/h pushed the fire down along Highway 3A south towards Olalla. The fire is currently still contained within the order boundaries of ‘evacuation,'” says a BCWS update.
“Crews worked through the night on structure defense around the Cedar Creek drainage and kept the fire on the west side of Highway 3A. Crews reported Class 4 fire behavior during nocturnal”.
Wind and slope continue to be the factors that contribute the most to fire behavior.
The Olalla Creek Forest Service Road has been closed until further notice.
UPDATE: 9:20 a.m
The Keremeos Creek wildfire located 21 kilometers southwest of Penticton is still estimated at 4,2500 hectares as of Thursday morning, according to the latest information from the BC Wildfire Service.
“Today, crews will reinforce containment lines along Hwy 3A to Sheep Creek Staging as conditions allow. This will involve burning with drip torches to deal with the remaining unburned fuels,” says an update from BCWS.
“Crews are constructing the line from Hwy 3A continuing containment using Cedar Creek FSR on the east flank to the north.”
The fire status appears as “Active”, no longer as “Out of Control”. Evacuation orders for 324 properties and alerts for hundreds more remain in effect. Stay up to date with evacuation orders and alerts online here.
“Crews were challenged on the northeast flank yesterday, but are making good progress and focusing their efforts on any areas that would be advantageous to protect homes and infrastructure,” BCWS says.
Intermittent closures of Highway 3A were necessary Wednesday and overnight to make it easier for crews to work on the planned fires.
The freeway is now open but…