UPDATE: 9:32 a.m.
The fire east of Penticton, in the area of Idleback Lake, is now estimated to be 0.2 hectares in size.
As well, the fire near Merritt no longer appears on the B.C. Wildfire Service interactive map. Another fire, however, has sprouted up about halfway between Merritt and Kamloops, similarly estimated to be 0.01 hectares in size.
That fire is believed to have been caused by human activity.
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Three new fires were discovered by the B.C. Wildfire Service in its Kamloops Fire Centre catchment area over the weekend, all of which are believed to have been caused by lightning.
That includes one 0.3-hectare fire about 30 kilometres east of Penticton and a 1.77-ha. fire northeast of Lytton, both discovered Sunday. Just west of Merritt, another fire was discovered Saturday, sized at 0.01 hectares.
All three fires are categorized as new, with no containment noted at this time.
They join three other fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre region, all 0.01 hectares in size, including two discovered on Thursday in the Shuswap Highland area and one discovered on Wednesday in the Wells Grey Provincial Park.
One of those has lightning listed as their suspected cause, with two having no suspected cause named.
Another fire was discovered on Sunday just outside the Kamloops Fire Centre area, about halfway between Beaverdell and Highway 3. That is also suspected to have been caused by lightning, and is estimated to be 0.1 hectares in size.
