The Garrison Lake fire on July 25. (Facebook photo)

Garrison Lake fire near Princeton grows to 3,000 hectares

Evacuation orders and alerts remain in place for the Eastgate area

  • Jul. 28, 2021 12:00 a.m.

The Garrison Lake wildfire, visible above Highway 3 near Eastgate, is an estimated 3,000 hectares in size.

BC Wildfire crews are on scene with air support while local firefighters are attacking the blaze from the ground with heavy equipment.

The fire did see growth overnight on the west and southeast flank.

READ MORE: Evacuation order issued for Garrison fire, near Princeton

Currently, the blaze is hung up on the ridge above Highway 3, according to BC Wildfire.

Crews are working to keep the fire off the highway corridor.

The Erris Volunteer Fire association is asking people to stay off the trails and logging roads in Bonnevier, Copper Creek, the Playground and other back county areas.

Erris firefighters stated growth on the blaze to the east could be challenging and there remains a possibility of the flames moving north where forest fuels are more abundant.

Line crews will be running pumps and sprinklers daily from 7 till 11 a.m. and again from 3 to 5 p.m.

There are currently 141 properties under an evacuation alert in the Regional District of the Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) and two properties on Placer Mountain Forest Service Road under an evacuation order.

BC Wildfire Service and the RDOS are actively monitoring the situation and should conditions deteriorate; more evacuation orders may be issued.

Princeton RCMP is patrolling the area after community members expressed concern about security in the Eastgate area.

Eastgate is located about 40 minutes from Princeton and about an hour from Hope.

READ MORE: Interior Health issues warning as temperatures climb


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