A house went up in flames in a North Okanagan community Wednesday afternoon.
Large plumes of dark smoke could be seen in Armstrong as a home fire was sparked in the 3600 block of Sage Avenue shortly after 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 16.
The scene at a house fire on Sage Avenue, near Armstrong Elementary School. Firefighters still at work as smoke continues to rise from the home. More to come. pic.twitter.com/VAoABHTWx8
— Vernon Morning Star (@VernonNews) June 16, 2021
Armstrong-Spallumcheen firefighters and RCMP were on scene at the single family residential house. Sage Avenue is closed as of 3 p.m. and the City of Armstrong is asking residents to avoid the area.
The cause of the blaze is unknown at the time, but there are several homes in the area. Nearby residents have been evacuated from their homes as a precaution and are in the care of the Red Cross, according to the city.
Next door neighbour Jennifer Schnurr was at home when she heard a number of loud bangs that scared her.
“It was like a huge explosion, there was no fire. My whole backyard was tons of smoke, I thought something blew up in my backyard. It was just explosions after explosions,” said Schnurr, who hopes there is no damage to her home, but knows there’s going to be significant damage to her neighbours’. “I didn’t know if it was a fire or not and I came out the front and I seen some flames coming out of the window.”
Emergency crews are responding to a structure fire in Armstrong in the Sage Avenue area. (Jen Dase footage) pic.twitter.com/HtxORHlre1
— Vernon Morning Star (@VernonNews) June 16, 2021
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A structure is burning on Sage Avenue in Armstrong Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (Richard Breaks - Facebook)
