(UPDATE: September 13th @ 2:20 p.m.) - The Finlay Creek fire is now listed as 100% contained.
The BC Wildfire Service made the update in the early afternoon on Wednesday.
The fire, which reached a size of 2,228 hectares, had been burning since around 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 2nd.
Mop up work will now begin in the area to make sure all hot spots are extinguished and all hazardous trees are cut down.
(UPDATE: September 11th @ 1:23 p.m.) - The Finlay Creek wildfire remains at 2,228 hectares and is 65% contained.
Kevin Skrepnek of the BC Wildfire Service reported that excellent progress has been seen there, and operations are expected to move into mop up activities in the next few days.
There are currently 122 firefighters, one helicopter, and nine pieces of heavy equipment assigned to the fire.
For up-to-date information on evacuation orders and alerts, click here.
(UPDATE: September 10th @ 11:08 a.m.) - The BC Wildfire Service is reporting a small increase in size at the Finlay Creek Wildfire.
It is now estimated at 2,228 hectares.On Saturday, September 9th, the fire was estimated at 2,201 hectares in size.
Crews were able to establish 50% containment, and there are now 116 firefighters, including crews from Ontario and Quebec. There also 13 pieces of heavy equipment. Air support has been reduced to one helicopter.
Crews will not be continuing with night operations going forwards.
(UPDATE: September 10th @ 10:35 a.m.) - Last evening, the BC Wildfire Service reported that thanks to the hard work of crews from B.C., Ontario, and Quebec, and strong support from equipment, helicopters, and an Incident Management Team, the Finlay Creek Wildfire is fire is now 50% contained.
The Finlay Creek area received approximately one millimetre of precipitation, which is always helpful in assisting the crews.
(UPDATE: September 8th @ 11:15 a.m.) - The Finlay Creek wildfire continues to grow near Peachland.
It's now measured at 2,139 hectares and is just 15% contained at this time.
"Crews on the Finlay Creek fire conducted a controlled burn yesterday. The fire has been increasing in size on the steep south slopes of Mount Acland," said an update from the BC Wildfire Service. "A controlled burn was initiated in this area south of Mount Acland from machine constructed fire guards to remove fuel between the active fire and the guards."
There are 61 firefighters, 23 pieces of heavy equipment and 11 helicopters currently battling the blaze.
(UPDATE: September 7th @ 9:30 a.m.) - The Finlay Creek wildfire is now estimated at 1,300 hectares and 15% contained. The BC Wildfire Service notes that due to the heavy smoke and terrain in the Finlay Creek area, mapping the fire can be difficult.
This fire is burning in steep terrain, particularly in the northern flank of the fire.
Crews and heavy equipment continue working through the day today on building new guard around the fire's perimeter and conducting 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.
There are currently 66 firefighters, 11 helicopters, and 30 pieces of heavy equipment on the scene.
(UPDATE: September 6th @ 9:50 a.m.) - The BC Wildfire Service continues to add additional resources to the Finlay Creek wildfire.
There are currently 47 firefighters, 10 helicopters, 23 pieces of heavy equipment continuing to build guard.
Fire information officer Heather Rice says that fire activity was quiet overnight, however, as a result smoke significantly decreased visibility and aircraft have been grounded.
Crews were able to do some burning off today to strengthen guard around the fire.
An area restriction is now in place around the fire and the BC Wildfire Service asks the people continue to stay off of Okanagan Lake.
(UPDATE: September 5th @ 3:39 p.m.) - The BC Wildfire Service says the Finlay Creek wildfire has not seen any significant changes.
The fire remains at 1,000 hectares, and no additional structures have been impacted.
(UPDATE: September 5th @ 9:30 a.m.) - The BC Wildfire Service said this morning that due to better mapping of the fire overnight, they estimate the size of the fire to be 1,000 hectares.
The fire was previously estimated to have grown to 1,500 hectares over the first night it was active.
There are currently 35 firefighters, 18 helicopters, and seven pieces of heavy equipment on the scene with more crews expected to arrive today. Last night crews were able to carry out small hand ignitions to bolster guard lines.
The BC Wildfire Service is warning people to stay away from Okanagan Lake access where air support is picking up water.
There are plans to set up a fire camp in Summerland so that all fire personnel assigned to this fire are in the same location and are closer to the fire.
(UPDATE: September 4th @ 9:00 p.m.)
The District of Summerland is reporting that the fire activity on the northeast end of Garnet Lake has stabilized and dozed lines are in place. BC Wildfire Service continues to fortify the area. The Finlay Creek fire is estimated to be approximately 1,500 hectares in size. Increased fire fighting activity will be noticeable in Summerland early this week as the BC Wildfire Services continues to bring additional fire fighting resources to the area. Water skimmers have been active Monday evening.
A large BC Wildfire basecamp is expected to be set up tomorrow at Living Memorial Park in Summerland which will also increase the presence of the fire protection personnel in the community.
BC Wildfire advises that this fire is highly visible from Peachland and surrounding areas including Highway 97 and Okanagan Lake. If fixed-wing aircraft need to use Okanagan Lake, please stay clear of the skimming operations.
Resources battling the wildfire
• 23 firefighters
• 3 helicopters
• 12 pieces of heavy equipment
• 4 airtankers
Tonight there will be seven firefighters and four pieces of heavy equipment working on building guard and establishing containment.
Additional evacuation alerts have been issued.
A detailed map is available showing the affected areas with the RDOS
(UPDATE: September 4th @ 3:30 p.m.) The BC Wildfire Service is reporting increased fire activity at the Finlay Creek wildfire. The activity is within the mapped perimeter of the fire, which remains at 1,500 hectares.
Information officer Heather Rice says that the increased behaviour is due to strong winds that have resulted in smoke plumes.
(UPDATE: September 4th @ 3:00 p.m.)
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is asking residents in the Faulder area are asked to conserve water. The reservoir for the local water system was nearly emptied last night from residents over watering their properties. RDOS Staff went door to door last night to stop residents from potentially crippling the water system and advise them that they are only under an Alert and did not need to evacuate.
RDOS also advises that the Province of BC has dispatched trained crews to protect homes in the affected areas. These trained personal will help home owners in the event their homes are in direct danger from the wildfire. For residents of properties under Evacuation Order in the Meadow Valley area, the Emergency Reception Centre located at the Summerland Arena and Curling Club at 8820 Jubilee Rd. East will remain open 8am to 5 pm today. As of 11 am today, there were 75 evacuees registered.
A detailed map is available showing the affected areas with the RDOS
#finlaycreekfire CDART can help people affected with pets, horses and livestock affected by wildfire. https://t.co/S20dj4n6af
— RDOS EOC (@EmergMgtRDOS) September 4, 2017
(UPDATE: September 4th @ 9:11 a.m.) - On-site Information Officer for the Finlay Creek wildfire, Heather Rice, reported this morning that the fire is now estimated to be 1,500 hectares in size. This new estimation is due to better mapping of the area. The fire did not see significant growth last night, and according to Rice most of the spread was the first night the fire was burning.
Currently, there are structures threatened at this time, including some residences. Fire crews are working on structural protection to avoid loss of those properties.
Crews are also working on building guard at the south flank of the fire to keep it from moving south into the Garnett Valley.
There are currently 18 firefighters, three helicopters, four air tankers, and nine pieces of heavy equipment. Rice reports that additional crews are en-route.
There are still 55 properties on evacuation order, and several others on alert. Click here for the most up-to-date information on orders and alerts.
(UPDATE: September 3rd @ 7:30 p.m.) - For the night there will be seven personnel and four pieces of heavy equipment working on the fire.
The fire is still estimated at 1,000 hectares according to BC Wildfire.
The main factors influencing this fire behaviour are terrain, wind speed and direction (today winds are coming from the North). This fire activity and rate of spread is largely due to how dry the fuels are within this area of the Okanagan.
Hot, dry conditions are expected to remain a challenge over the coming days in the Okanagan. There is currently no rainfall in the forecast and winds can often be challenging.
(UPDATE: September 3rd @ 11:09 a.m.) - The Finlay Creek fire is now being estimated at 1,000 hectares in size.
There are currently 23 firefighters, three helicopters, air tankers, and four pieces of heavy equipment at the scene. They are working on deploying an incident management team.
For up-to-date information on evacuation alerts, click here.
(UPDATE: September 3rd @ 9:40 a.m.) - The BC Wildfire Service is reporting that the Finlay Creek fire saw significant growth overnight. The last estimated size was 100 hectares.
Fire personnel from the BC Wildfire Service working on mapping the area this morning and an update on growth are expected soon.
There are currently 22 firefighters, three helicopters, and one piece of heavy equipment at the scene. A Bird Dog spotter plane is assessing the area for airtanker objectives.
(UPDATE: September 2nd @ 9:10 p.m.) - The fire is now being estimated at 100 hectares in size. Overnight crews will be working on the fire, including seven firefighters and two pieces of heavy machinery in order to establish guard.
BC Wildfire suspects the fire may be human caused.
Evacuation alerts have been issued by CORD Emergency.
(UPDATE: September 2nd @ 7:25 p.m.) - The BC Wildfire Service the
fire has grown to 40 hectares in size, and is still very active.
There are currently 18 firefighters, three helicopters, and airtankers responding. No structures in the area are being threatened at this time.
(UPDATE: September 2nd @ 6:10 p.m.) - BC Wildfire is now reporting the fire at 20 hectares and generating a lot of smoke.
The fire is in steep terrain and strong western winds are increasing fire behaviour. There are air tankers, three helicopters and ground personnel fighting the fire. No structures in the immediate area are being threatened.
(UPDATE: September 2nd @ 5:10 p.m.) -
The BC Wildfire Service has confirmed a wildfire is burning 7.5 km west of Peachland, approximately 4 km west of Hwy 97, and south of the Munro Lake Road.
The fire is estimated to be 10 hectares in size. Seven BC Wildfire personnel are on site, with fixed wing aircraft, and two helicopters. There are 20 additional BC Wildfire personnel are enroute.
BC Wildfire reports structures in the area, but say they are not currently threatened.
Original story - Wildfire reported in Peachland area
A wildfire is currently burning in the Peachland area.
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Check out KelownaNow's photo story on the Finlay Creek wildfire here.
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UPDATE: Finlay Creek wildfire is 100% contained
