The Finlay Creek wildfire southwest of Peachland is pegged at 1,300 hectares as of Thursday morning.
BC Wildfire crews say the fire is currently 15 per cent contained and stayed relatively calm overnight Wednesday.
The fire was first discovered on Saturday and grew significantly in the first 48 hours. Fire crews had pegged the fire at 1,500 hectares on Monday, but dropped it to 1,000 hectares on Tuesday after they had completed better mapping.
Related: Peachland wildfire remapped at 1,000 hectares
Further growth on the fire yesterday has the size estimate back up at 1,300 hectares.
“BC Wildfire Service reports that the last two days have seen calmer winds resulting in less severe fire behaviour and allowing crews to get the upper hand along the south east flank of the fire,” writes Central Okanagan Emergency Operations. “However, stronger winds are expected in the days ahead and the fire can become more volatile.”
Related: Rain is on its way to the Okanagan
“This fire is burning in steep terrain, particularly in the northern flank of the fire,” reports BC Wildfire.
Related: No verified structures lost to Finlay Creek fire
“Crews and heavy equipment continue working through the day today on building new guard around the fire’s perimeter and conducting hand-ignition operations to reinforce pre-existing guards. The fire remains active, particularly in the southern flank. There is an organized flame front, which is called “rank 3″ fire behaviour.”
The main factors influencing this fire behaviour are terrain and wind speed and direction.
“Largely this fire activity and rate of spread is due to how dry the fuels are within this area of the Okanagan.”
Crews are working with a Structural Protection Specialist in the southern flank to protect values and structures.
All evacuation alerts remain in place. A detailed map is available showing the approximately 306 affected properties in the Central Okanagan at www.cordemergency.ca. For information about properties affected south of Peachland, visit the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen website at www.rdos.bc.ca.
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