Kamloops Fire Centre Respond to Multiple Fires in the South Okanagan

It’s been a busy afternoon for the Kamloops Fire Centre, as crews are currently assessing a 90 hectare fire burning in the mountainous region of the Snowy Protected Area near Cathedral Provincial Park. This incident follows on the heels of another small fire in Summerland that was sparked earlier Thursday afternoon.

Just after 1:00 p.m., the Kamloops Fire Centre was notified of a fire burning in the high elevation region of the Snowy Protected Area. The nearest town to the burning zone is Osoyoos, but the fire is located far away from the Town and no structures are under threat at this time.

Arrow indicates where the fire is burning in the provincial park. (Photo Credit: BC Wildfire Centre.)

According to Kayla Pepper with the Kamloops Fire Centre, air tankers were deployed in response to the blaze, but due to the fire’s aggressive nature and the high elevation of the burn, no personnel or air tankers have managed to infiltrate the fire zone. However, the area is not vastly populated by hikers, said Pepper.

At this time, lightning is the suspected cause of the fire.

The Kamloops Fire Centre is now working in conjunction with their American counterparts to assess the fire and move forward accordingly.

“This fire is just an indicator as to how hot and dry it is throughout the entire fire centre. That area is sitting in a high fire danger rating, and even with the precipitation that came through many areas in the last few days, it’s dried out quite quickly. We want to remind the public to exercise all caution and make sure they’re being safe with any fire use because when we are battling these natural occurring fires, we cannot afford to have any additional human caused incidents.”

KelownaNow will now provide further details as they become available, as the fire near Osoyoos is still unfolding.

Meanwhile, earlier on Thursday afternoon, crews from the Kamloops Fire Centre assisted the Summerland Fire Department with another fire. According to Pepper, the blaze was small in nature and is believed to be under control.

Pepper is not entirely sure what the cause of the Summerland fire was.