Evacuation alert issued as wildfire gets close

NEWS — Residents of five homes near Bridge River were put on evacuation alert today (Monday) as a 20-hectare wildfire burned too close for comfort.

Little information was available on the blaze Monday night, but the B.C. Wildfire Management Branch noted 21 firefighters were working to put out the interface fire and it is under investigation.

So far this month, 32 wildfires have sparked up in the Kamloops Fire Centre area — most of them human caused and most of them from open burning gone wrong. That represents more than half of the total number of wildfires burning in B.C. so far this season.

Just since last Friday, 10 new wildfires have flared up in the area.

Branch officials are urging people to be more careful in dealing with any open fires, making sure to check the venting index and ensuring there is water readily available before striking a match.

The two largest fires in the centre area are in the Penticton Fire Zone. One is Inkaneep, northeast of Osoyoos, which has reached 80 hectares. The other is southeast of Keremeos and spans 84 hectares.