The Hedges Butte wildfire east of Penticton has swelled to over 100 hectares in a single day, leading to the Penticton Indian Band to issue evacuation alerts.
Cindy Kirk and her husband were having coffee on their deck in the morning when they spotted the smoke. The fire was already quickly spreading up the slope.
“I was in my vehicle basically ready to pull out of here,” said Kirk, whose property and home is directly across the road from where the fire started.
READ MORE: Fire discovered today near Apex Mountain is already 50 hectares
After calming down, Kirk and her husband took advantage of the nearby creek and their pump to start spraying down everything they could reach until BC Wildfire arrived.
“I think the helicopters arrived in about 20 minutes, and the firefighters were here so fast, I’m so thankful for them. It was like hell, it was so horrible. Everybody goes through those fires and you never really realize how bad it is until you’re in that situation.”
Once wildfire arrived on scene, Kirk offered them access to the creek, where firefighters set up their own pump to send water up the hill.
The evacuation alerts for the fire from the PIB covers properties at the furthest western edge of the band’s land, east and north of Farleigh Lake.
Thos properties include 111 and 119 Big Valley Road; 851, 795, 791, 279, 121, 111, 105 and 101 Shingle Creek Road; 1269, 1279, 1283, 1329, 1335, 1378 and 1402 Green Mountain Road.
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
@PentictonNews newstips@pentictonwesternnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
The Hedges Butte wildfire between Penticton and Apex. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
A helicopter loading water from Farleigh Lake for the Hedges Butte wildfire between Penticton and Apex. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
A helicopter loading water from Farleigh Lake for the Hedges Butte wildfire between Penticton and Apex. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
A helicopter loading water from Farleigh Lake for the Hedges Butte wildfire between Penticton and Apex. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
A helicopter bucketing water onto the Hedges Butte wildfire between Penticton and Apex. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
A BC Wildfire firefighter makes his way up the slope of the Hedges Butte wildfire with hoses. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
One of several skimmers making passes over the Hedges Butte wildfire. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
