Crews battle wildfires in B.C.'s Okanagan Sunday

A BC Wildfire Service map shows the approximate location of a wildfire burning near Lumby, B.C. on Sunday, March 17.

Crews worked multiple wildfires that were discovered in B.C.’s Okanagan Sunday afternoon.

According to the BC Wildfire Service website, one of the blazes—located outside the Village of Lumby in the Creighton Valley area—was discovered just after 1 p.m.

Later that afternoon, it was listed as three hectares in size, or 30,000 square metres, and human-caused.

And in the evening, BCWS updated the blaze as “being held,” or “not likely to spread beyond predetermined boundaries under current conditions.”

Lumby Fire Chief Tony Clayton told CTV News the fire was caused by someone burning debris, which then got out of control quickly in the very dry conditions.

“I’ve been doing this for over 30 years and I’ve never seen a fire get that big that fast in the middle of March,” he said.

He said the individual helped firefighters as much as he could, and added the incident serves as a reminder to be careful when doing clean-up burns.

The fire burned on steep ground, which proved a challenge for crews, the fire chief said. Along with the Lumby Fire Department, crews from BC Wildfire Service, Enderby and BX Swan Lake were sent in to help.

On Monday morning, the fire was downgraded to “under control.” Clayton said crews were mopping up hot spots and expects the firefighting effort to be wrapped up by the end of the day.

‘We can’t take any chances’

Lumby Mayor Kevin Acton echoed the fire chief’s sentiments, telling CTV News Sunday’s fire was unlike anything he’s seen in his more than 30 years living in the village.

“Not that we haven't had a dry spring before, but this is the first time actually seeing something happen because of it,” he said Monday.

Heading into what is forecast to be a warm and dry season, Acton said everyone needs to be fire-smart.

“We need to be super vigilant. We can’t take any chances with fires,” he said.

The mayor reminded people not to throw cigarette butts out windows and to be cautious and have the right equipment at the ready when burning foliage.

“We've got a great fire department—hopefully we don't have to put them to the test again,” he said.

Sunday sees spot fires

Another spot fire was discovered just before 4 p.m. Sunday near Summerland. BCWS also downgraded it to “being held” just after 6:30 p.m.

Also on Sunday, a wildfire was discovered and quickly put out just outside the Village of Lions Bay on the Sea to Sky Highway. It was discovered just before 2:30 p.m, and at 3 p.m., an update said the fire was declared out.

In a similar fashion, a wildfire sparked near Chase, B.C., on Sunday and grew to 4.1 hectares before being declared out a few hours later.

There are currently 96 active fires in the province, according to BCWS, mostly holdover fires from the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season that are still burning underground.

Sunday’s fires come as B.C. is experiencing a record-setting warm weekend. Rain is forecast to return to much of the province on Wednesday.

At the same time, according to the River Forecast Centre’s most recent report, snowpack levels across B.C. are at 66 per cent of normal on average, which means “significantly elevated drought hazards” are in store come summer.

Officials gave an update on the season’s drought and wildfire outlook on Monday, saying the province could be in for another “very challenging” summer.