B.C. wildfires: Out of control fire doubles in size in just over 12 hours
A new wildfire burning near Penticton, B.C., has grown to 212 hectares.
The Skaha Lake fire was discovered on Saturday and is believed to be human caused.
“The major challenge that we are facing in regards to the Skaha Creek wildfire is the fuel,” said Erika Berg, fire information officer with B.C. Wildfire Service. “Those fuels have been extremely dry, since spring, and so what little bit of precipitation that that area may have received over the course of the spring and summer, hasn’t been enough to really dampen those fuels.”
Multiple air tankers and skimmers are working to contain it.
“At the time of ignition it was six kilometres southwest of Penticton,” said Berg. “(It’s) currently not threatening any structures.”
Videos on social media show massive orange and red flames shooting in the sky.
“It was a bit on the scary side last night especially around midnight where the flames were very, very visible,” said John Vassilaki, Penticton Mayor. “That put concerns into place for folks living around that area.”
“Recreational boaters on Skaha and Okanagan Lakes are also asked to stay close to shore to allow aircraft responding to the nearby wildfire to collect lake water,” said a news release issued by the city Sunday.
The Penticton Indian Band and Westhills Aggregates are also supporting the BC Wildfire Service and are working to improve road conditions to allow crews and equipment better access to the fire site.
“The Band would like to remind the public to avoid areas and roadways close to the fire as it puts responders and the community at risk,” the city's statement said.
On Monday morning the Penticton Indian Band tweeted it was activating its Emergency Operations Centre. In the statement it added, “there are winds expected this afternoon coming from the north sustained at 20 kilometres per hour, gusting to 40 kilometres per hour. Ground crews and aerial support continue suppression efforts and building containment guards.”
Vassilaki said the City of Penticton has offered its assistance should the Penticton Indian Band need it.
“We found in the city of Penticton about 140 hotel rooms if they’re ever necessary,” said Vassilaki. “There’s no danger of that fire to ever catch up to any structures on Penticton Indian Band lands, so I mean everything’s pretty safe over there.”
Vassilaki said he does not anticipate there being any closures to highway 97 because of this fire. As of Monday morning, he said there was just some smoke in the sky.
Meanwhile, a large-scale controlled burn will be conducted on the massive White Rock Lake wildfire burning between Kamloops and Vernon.
Another 60 members of the Canadian Armed Forces arrived on Sunday, in addition to 60 members that were already working on the out-of-control blaze.
Additional firefighters from Mexico also arrived over the weekend to battle the Mount Law wildfire just outside of West Kelowna.
There were 233 active wildfires burning across the province as of Monday morning.
“It has been a really intense season for us,” said Berg. “These fires are still burning, we’re not out of the woods, things are slowing but it is still summer, fall is not quite here, so we’ll still be working away.”
According to the B.C. Wildfire Service there are almost 600 out of province personnel currently here working on the wildfires. Berg said with the change in the weather system it has given the team a break and when deployments are up, crews will be able to head home.
“Over the past week it’s been quite a bit cooler than those really extreme temperatures we’ve seen,” she said. “There is the potential for some precipitation to reach the Kamloops fire centre where we see the Skaha Creek wildfire is located, but not enough that will really change things for those larger fires.”
Berg told CTV News Vancouver 10 per cent of wildfires this season have been human caused, 70 per cent are believed to be naturally caused and the remaining 20 per cent are undetermined.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Ford to recall some pickup trucks in Canada over tail light failure
Ford is set to recall some pickup trucks in Canada due to potential tail light failure.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.