Twin Lakes and Keremeos wildfires doused and under control

All three fires in the South Okanagan were brought under control yesterday on June 24, according to BC Wildfire Services.

The fire near Twin Lakes saw no growth overnight, with three firefighters stationed on-site. The final size of that fire was 47 hectares.

“The crews were able to get around it and get an accurate track of the fire,” said Madison Smith, a fire information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre.

Today, June 25, 40 personnel will be on scene finishing off any remains of the fire.

During the initial stages of the fire, there were 26 personnel on the ground, helicopters and waterbombers providing aerial support on the Twin Lakes fire, with helicopters on standby today.

The Twin Lakes fire led some residents in the area to express their concern over social media that the fire could have spread to the nearby White Lake observatory or a nearby ranch.

The cause of the fire is believed to have been human-caused, but is currently under investigation.

Twin Lakes has no fire protection services.

The fires near Madellaine Lake just outside of Penticton and between Keremeos and Olalla both were handled by the local fire departments, with BC Wildfire called off.

The Keremeos fire was caused by a blown tire on a trailer, according to Keremeos fire department chief Jordy Bosscha.

“We were fortunate that there was no wind at the time, so it was contained to a three-metres-by-three-metres spot,” said Bosscha. “It was mostly out by the time we got there, a passerby had seen it.”

With temperatures close to breaking records across the South Okanagan, the BC Wildfire Service issued a warning to be extremely cautious with any use of fire, with a reminder that Category 2 and 3 open burning is prohibited as of today, June 25.

Human caused wildfires are entirely preventable and unnecessarily increase the workload of crews & personnel. #BCWildfire is fully prepared to deal with anticipated fire demands; however, it is important we all do our part in limiting demands on crucial firefighting resources.

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) June 24, 2021