Penticton’s deputy fire chief says his crews will stay on Campbell Mountain until at least Saturday to mop up a blaze that sprung to lifeThursday afternoon.
Dave Spalding said the fire grew larger than previously reported at 5.5 hectares before it was snuffed out by members of the Penticton Fire Department with help from from the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch.
“Our crews are still up there. Forestry crews have showed up again this morning just to give us a hand and to give my guys a bit of a break,” Spalding said Friday at noon.
“We’ll be up there again all day today and through tonight, and we’ll reassess tomorrow and see if we need to stay up any further than that, but we’re certainly not going to leave anything that’s still hot unattended or unwatched.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Updates on other local fires from the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen as of 11:30 a.m. Friday:
Apex Mountain:
The fire remains approximately 313 hectares and is approximately 50 per cent contained. The threat to public safety has not changed. The evacuation alert remains for the 13 previously identified properties.
Jura:
The fire is now approximately 450 hectares. The forestry crews, air and ground support were able to make good progress on this fire Thursday, but they lost some ground installing the guard and it is currently only 40 to 50 per cent complete. The evacuation alert remains for the 606 previously identified properties and we will assess throughout the day. There is a threat of stronger winds forecasted later today for the area.
Boot Hill (Nickleplate):
There is no significant change from Thursday. The fire remains at approximately 138 hectares with 30 per cent containment. Crews have been working on building a guard around the perimeter with some resources been removed. Public Safety has not changed. There is no evacuation alerts associated with this incident.
