Hundreds of people have been evacuated from homes in Peachland after a fast-moving wildfire erupted on the hottest day of the year.
Residents of about 400 properties were ordered Wednesday afternoon to leave their homes as the fire moved quickly through forest-fringed neighborhoods on the north side of town, pop. 6,500, about 25 km south of ѻý. An additional 250 properties were on evacuation alert.
At one point, the fire came within 50 feet of at least one home on Walker Road but quick deployment of air tankers, bucketing helicopters, and skimmers looked to have saved the property.
But every few minutes, mature Ponderosa trees elsewhere would burst into flames in a hillside spectacle watched by motorists stranded because of the closure of Highway 97 between Peachland and West ѻý.
As of early Thursday, Highway 97 had re-opened with single-lane alternating traffic, after being shut for hours Wednesday afternoon and evening. But small ground fires were still visible alongside the highway, which was stained red in places by fire retardant dropped from aircraft. There were no reports of any structures being lost to the fire.
An update from the BC Wildfire Service reads: Aircraft retardant and water delivery was effective at cooling fire behaviour. The fire behaviour has decreased to rank 1 and 2, meaning a low surface fire with some open flame and a slow rate of spread. The fire was sized at 27 ha.
Smoke hung over the evacuated neighborhoods early Thursday, with streets blocked by police. As of 7 a.m., no aircraft were working the fire.
The fire started about 2 p.m. Wednesday because of a vehicle incident on the two-lane section of the highway on Drought Hill. Within minutes, it was moving up a steep, heavily-treed area southwest of the interchange of Highway 97 and Highway 97C (the Okanagan Connector)
The temperature was 36 C, equalling marks set earlier in July. The Okanagan has been under a Heat Advisory issued by Environment Canada, with Thursday's high was expected to again be 36 C, though with a 40 per cent chance of showers.
A small fleet of aircraft was soon on the scene Wednesday afternoon and early evening, dropping water and red-tinged retardant to slow the fire's advance. One thing aiding firefighters was the relative absence of wind, as conditions were calm with no significant breeze.
A so-called "tactical evacuation" was ordered just before 5 p.m. of approximately 400 Peachland properties, bounded roughly by Highway 97, Highway 97C, and Trepannier Road, a municipal street.
Residents were told they should be prepared to be "away from their properties for an extended period of time". Evacuee reception centres were set up in the Peachland community centre and Royal LePage Place arena in West ѻý for Peachland residents unable to get home because of the highway closure.
While Highway 97 was closed, an alternate route between ѻý and Penticton was available via Forestry Service Road 201 but the journey is over a gravel road and adds several hours to travel times.
This is our earlier story:
All hands are on deck to put out a wildfire near Peachland.
The fire is burning over a steep, heavily forested neighbourhood near the intersection of Highway 97 and Buchanan Road.
Reporter Ron Seymour is on the scene, and he sees around a dozen aircraft, and says some are dropping retardant within 50 feet of nearby homes.
“They’re working it as hard as you can imagine they would ,” Seymour said, adding that homes in the area appear to be getting evacuated.
“Itѻý pretty dramatic... Every few minutes entire trees burst into flames.”
The fire is spreading fast in towards the southeast, and in the direction of other neighbourhoods.
“One thing that may aid firefighters is the relative lack of wind,” Seymour added. “Branches aren’t swaying."
Despite the severity of the situation, Seymour has not seen any structure damage.
DriveBC reports the highway is closed in both directions.
“The #BCHwy97C eastbound at the junction is also closed. Full closure anticipated for Highway 97C,” DriveBC posted to X.
BCWildfire reports the fire is classified as out of control, five hectares in size. Suspected cause is a truck fire on the side of Highway 97.