The Keremeos Creek wildfire, situated 20 kilometres outside of Penticton, B.C., continues to present challenges, being fuelled by wind and protected by rough terrain.
“Overnight, downslope winds in excess of 30 kilometres an hour drove fire downhill along Hwy 3A southwards towards Olalla,” BC Wildfire said in a Friday morning update.
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More evacuation orders issued as Keremeos Creek wildfire grows
Currently, the fire is still within the evacuation order boundaries but “wind and slope continue to be the biggest contributing factors for increased fire behaviour.”
The Regional District of the Okanagan Similkameen issued more evacuation orders on Thursday night, this time applying to 21 homes south of Ollalla up to Liddicoat Road.
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Keremeos Creek wildfire mapped at 4,250 hectares following planned ignitions
These are in addition to the 362 properties already on evacuation order and 517 properties on evacuation alert. Also, the Penticton Indian Band has issued an evacuation alert for 11 properties.
The Olalla Creek Forest Service Road is closed in support of the suppression efforts for the Keremeos Creek wildfire.
As of Thursday, this fire was estimated to be 4,250 hectares in size, though a new perimeter map has been ordered and the number may change.
There are 201 wildland firefighters assigned to this fire working with an additional 170 structural protection personnel from fire departments across B.C. for a total crew complement of 371 firefighters.