The Keremeos Creek wildfire situated 21 kilometres southwest of Penticton, B.C., is now an estimated 5,903 hectares and remains out of control.
BC Wildfire said there were no structures damaged by flames overnight Sunday and conditions were working in their favour. Crews continued patrols, monitoring and knocking down hot spots at the interface, at Highway 3A and along key sections of the guard.
“Crews will be conducting planned ignitions to fortify hand guard constructed (Sunday),” reads the latest update.
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Temporary evacuation centre opens in Keremeos for those displaced by wildfires
“Two unit crews will use hand ignitions on approximately 30 hectares to secure a large stretch of ground north of the town of Olalla. Helicopters and an ignition specialist will also be on site.”
These hand ignitions are intended to bring the fire down to safe, workable ground for crews and are crucial for creating reliable containment. As that happens, however, increased fire activity and smoke may be visible from Olalla and Keremeos.
Hand ignitions will also be used on the northeastern corner of the fire from the end of Sheep Creek Road travelling north. These ignitions are expected to be low-intensity and will help secure the northeastern control lines. Helicopters will be standing by in both areas to support operations.
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Keremeos Creek wildfire — 1,600 properties under evacuation alerts, orders
There are 245 wildland firefighters assigned to this fire working with an additional 160 structural protection personnel from fire departments across B.C. for a total crew complement of 405 firefighters.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Emergency Operations Centre (RDOS EOC) is in regular communication with BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) to assess the status of all evacuation alerts and orders within the RDOS. No changes to evacuation orders or alerts within the RDOS have been made so far on Monday. Ongoing evacuation alerts and orders remain in effect.
The RDOS, in conjunction with the Village of Keremeos, has temporarily opened an Emergency Support Service (ESS) Reception Centre at the Keremeos Victory Hall at 427-7th Avenue and it opened at 9 a.m. on Monday.
The City of Penticton ESS Reception Centre at Princess Margaret Secondary School opened at 9 a.m. Monday.