The cause of Saturday’s wildfire near Predator Ridge has been determined.
Strong winds knocked a power pole down and it came into contact with a tree in the Kokanee Road area.
“Contact with the tree set it off,” said Lawrie Skolrood, Vernon deputy fire chief, of electrical sparks.
As of Sunday afternoon, the six-hectare blaze is contained and the evacuation alert for 45 residences in the Sunset Properties subdivision has been rescinded.
There are still some existing hot spots and smoke in the area, and firefighters will continue to monitor the area.
“It’s in the mop-up phase,” said Skolrood.
“It looks really good. Thankfully we got rain and the wind died down. With hotter temperatures today, there may be hot spots come up but unless we get wind, we pretty much have it licked.”
The B.C. Wildfire Service remains on scene as do Vernon firefighters.
“A tip of the hat to the forestry crews and our crew really came through. I am really proud of the work they did,” said Skolrood.
