An aggressive wildfire burning outside West Kelowna more than doubled in size Tuesday, but officials said most of the spread has been away from nearby properties.
About 100 people have already been forced to leave home because of the Westside Road blaze, which broke out Sunday and has grown to an estimated 430 hectares – bigger than Vancouver’s Stanley Park.
Just hours earlier, officials pegged the wildfire at 175 hectares.
Commander Dale Bojahra of the B.C. Wildfire Service said gusty winds helped fan the flames overnight and through Tuesday morning, but the danger to nearby residences has largely remained steady.
“We haven’t seen a lot of growth moving either north or south toward the homes, most the growth has been upslope into the timber,” Bojahra said.
There were still some close calls, he added.
“Certainly I’ve heard of some areas where we got very close to some structures, especially some outbuildings.”
Officials confirmed at one point, the blaze got close enough to a home to light up the landscaping before firefighters managed to fend it off. The residence sustained some heat damage but was ultimately saved.
About 70 homes remain under evacuation order, and residents told CTV News they’re worried about what they’ll eventually be returning to.
“We thought for sure our home was going to be gone because the way [the fire] was coming down the hill,” evacuee Rick Deck said.
The Westside Road fire is burning in Christy Clark’s own riding, and the premier didn’t downplay the threat it poses when speaking to the media Tuesday.
“It is dire,” Clark said. “There are men and women on the front lines of this forest fire right now risking their lives to keep our communities safe every day, and I want to say thanks to them.”
There are 267 fires burning across the province, including a staggering 41 that were sparked Tuesday alone. Most were caused by lightning, but at least 39 are believed to be human-caused.
For the latest information on evacuation orders and alerts, visit the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations website.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Kent Molgat
