Officials have lifted an evacuation order for 18 properties near a wildfire that destroyed at least one home and several outbuildings south of Penticton, B.C.
Another 165 properties remain under an evacuation alert, which means homeowners must still be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.
The BC Wildfire Service says the fire is now 100 contained and crews are still monitoring hot spots.
The blaze in the 1,200-person community of Kaleden located in the South Okanagan grew from less than one hectare to over 6.5 hectares within a few hours Tuesday afternoon, quickly consuming the hillside area of Ponderosa Point.
The fire chief, Denis Gaudry, said the blaze was first reported as a single tree on fire, at around 3:45 p.m., but that the flames quickly spread with help from the wind.
He said a firefighter was injured, but was treated by the BC Ambulance Service and has since returned to duty.
Crews worked around the clock to battle back the fire on the shores of the picturesque Skaha Lake and keep an upper hand. Still, the flames devoured vegetation and buildings, including work sheds and garages, in its wake.
The resident who lives next to the home that was destroyed told CTV News the flames jumped over his house and leapt onto the two neighbouring properties, charring both of them.
"Basically the fire was on the house, it was surrounding [it]," he said. "So the [fire] departments were on site ASAP."
Firefighters boxed in the flames with a buffer of retardant and saved six additional homes from being consumed, said Max Birkner of Kamloops Fire Centre.
Although the official cause of the fire has not been determined, one fire official said it was most likely human-caused because there had not been any lightning in the area at the time.
With tinder dry conditions in the region and increasing summer recreation activity, Birkner used the wildfire as a reminder for people to be fire safe.
"We're asking the public to be extremely careful," he told CTV News Channel.
"Don't go abandoning your campfire, or dirt biking riding your dirt bike through tall grass. The last thing we need right now are more fires that are human caused."
