A wildfire near Oliver has grown to 900 hectares and crews are taking extra measures to protect nearby homes.

The fire, discovered Sunday, is burning near Eagle Bluff, between Okanagan Falls and Oliver. At first, the wildfire was estimated to be 120 hectares but is now more than seven times the size, partially due to mapping but also due to the terrain and extreme conditions.

BC Wildfire Service posted to Twitter Wednesday morning saying crews would be conducting small-scale hand ignition operations on the south end of Gallagher Lake. The hope, they say, is that this will remove any combustible fuels that could be between the fire's perimeter and the community.

An evacuation alert was put in place for the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen's electoral area C and the Osoyoos Indian Band early Monday morning and late on Tuesday, that was expanded to include the Senkulmen Business Park and the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Oliver.

"We have ashes all over our yard. No, we're not feeling very safe at all,” said Jenn Kreut, an Oliver Resident.

Kreut’s home is one of 200 properties effected by the evacuation alert, but she chose to leave earlier this week.

"We're like that's moving very fast, so we packed up and we left,” Kreut told CTV News.

She returned days later, when it appeared crews had the upper hand, but was met with a wall of flame.

"You could just see that whole mountain half way down to Oliver downtown area is just raging flames,” Kreut explained.

Fire crews say the terrain has made fighting the blaze extra challenging.

"It is pretty steep and rocky up there," said Nicole Bonnett, prevention specialist at BC Wildfire Service. "There's also some powerlines and transformer lines … so that poses a little bit of an issue for helicopters and bucketing as far as safety goes we want them to steer clear of those areas so their long lines and things don't get tangled up."

The weather is also hindering efforts.

"It's a little bit windy. The hot temperatures and the low relative humidity have a made a difference as well,” said Shannon Street of the BC Wildfire Service.

The flames are spreading so fast, officials are now making plans to re-locate inmates at the Okanagan Correctional Centre.

"You can't have all those people trapped in there and have the flames that close,” said Kreut.

Several businesses along the Okanagan Falls wine trail are also on alert, including the popular Jackson Triggs. More than 80 BC Wildfire Service personnel are working around the clock to douse the flames.

"You feel sorry for the Fire Fighters. It's 32 or 34 degrees right now and they gotta climb up the hills in this heat,” said Phil Cove, an Okanagan Resident.

On Monday, Environment Canada issued an air quality statement for the South Okanagan region, saying conditions will be impacted by wildfire smoke for the next few days.

"During a wildfire, smoke conditions can change quickly over short distances and can vary considerably hour-by-hour," Environment Canada's statement says. "Wildfire smoke is a natural part of our environment but it is important to be mindful that exposure to smoke may affect your health."

BC Wildfire Service believes the fire is human-caused.