As the Keremeos Creek wildfire rages on, residents of 324 properties have been ordered to leave, but not all are obeying the evacuation order.
According to BC Wildfire Service, as of Tuesday morning the fire is mapped at 2,790 hectares and is threatening several properties in the area.
“Right now the wind is not working in our favour. It’s flowing into our area, which is concerning,” said Dan Jerowsky as he pointed towards the fire near his home.
“Yesterday, it was flowing the other way so it was a little easier on the mind. But right now it’s a little tense.”
Jerowsky’s home is on evacuation order but on Tuesday he was still at home. He said he has been watching the fire inch closer to his house and is prepared to leave if the fire reaches the backyard.
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“Well, I’ve got a lot of stuff that I want to take care of, make sure it’s okay,” said Jerowsky.
“Within reason, like as soon as it crosses that hill, it will be time to leave without a doubt. But until it does, I will stay here and try and take care of my stuff.”
Just down the road, Shawn Carter of Cedar Creek Ranch said he won’t be leaving anytime soon.
“I don’t think I’d ever leave. I wouldn’t, no — I’d stay here right to the end,” said Carter.
The ranch has moved most of their animals and has taken steps to prepare their property in case the fire comes down the mountain.
“You can’t just leave; we have 10 or eight bulls and we can’t just all leave them,” he said.
However, BC Wildfire Service is condemning the actions of anyone who is deciding to stay put.
“We’ve seen this in the past with the BC Wildfire Service rescuing people who stay and put themselves in harm’s way and put our crews into harm’s way, too,” said BCWS Information Officer Bryan Zandberg.
“You can really imperil operations sometimes when things get critical, when they change. We’re dealing with wildfire, you know, it’s unpredictable.”
Since Global News spoke with Jerowsky on Tuesday morning, the fire has descended towards his home and BC Highway 3A.
BCWS said over 200 personal are working to contain the blaze and hopefully protect any structures in its path.
“Just a lot of attention, we’re just really concentrating on protecting those values for people. Same with the transmission lines in that area,” said Zandberg.
