Vancouver — An evacuation alert prompted by a wildfire burning near Penticton has been rescinded. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen announced Sunday afternoon that the alert for properties in the Farleigh Lake area of Electoral Area I has been rescinded. A nearby evacuation alert issued by the Penticton Indian Band was still in place as of Sunday afternoon. The alerts were prompted by the Hedges Butte wildfire, a 189-hectare blaze first discovered on Friday, Sept. 3. According to the BC Wildfire Service, the Hedges Butte fire was still classified as out of control Sunday, but fire behaviour had been "minimal" over the weekend to that point. That, plus favourable weather conditions, meant crews expected to make further progress in containing the fire on Sunday, the service said. A total of 51 firefighting personnel, 15 pieces of heavy equipment, eight helicopters and an incident management team were working on the blaze Sunday. Air tankers and skimmers were also supporting crews as needed.
