People forced to leave their homes Sunday as a wildfire sparked and quickly grew near the airport in Kelowna have been told they can return after 6:00 p.m. Monday. In a news release, the Regional District of the Central Okanagan said people living in those homes will be under evacuation alert – joining residents of 113 other properties who have been told to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice should the situation change. The BC Wildfire Service was alerted to the fire around noon on Sunday and by mid-afternoon air tankers were dropping fire retardant between the flames and nearby homes. Arrivals and departures at the airport were cancelled Sunday but flights have since resumed. The fire grew to 4.9 hectares in size before BCWS classified it as held and said it was not expected to grow beyond its current size. Prior to that, it had shown rank three fire behaviour which means there was candling in some trees. “Fire behaviour is currently at rank one which means a smouldering ground fire,” said Cali Nessman, a BCWS fire information officer. “We are expecting to see some smoke throughout the day, but crews were able to get a hold on it.” Although crews gained the upper hand before any structures were damaged, the staff at the RDCO say the situation is a good example of how quickly a fire can start and threaten homes in vulnerable parts of the province at this time of the year. “These fires can start at any moment and can spread quite quickly. So, just continually reminding people to have their grab and go bags ready, make sure their insurance policies are up to date, make sure they understand their insurance policies,” said Brittany Siebert, emergency manager with RDCO. Near Lytton, the Izman Creek fire has now consumed nearly 250 hectares since it started on Canada Day when an RCMP boat trailer lost a wheel on the highway and sparks ignited in some tall grass at the roadside. A dozen properties there remain under evacuation alert or order as close to 70 BCWS personnel fight the fire in challenging conditions. “Today does kind of mark the beginning of a warming and drying trend so we are seeing our temperatures start to increase in this area and our relative humidity level start to decrease,” said BCWS fire information officer Sarah Hall. In total, more than 80 wildfires are currently burning across the province and hot, dry weather across the southern interior in the days ahead could create the potential for even more ignitions.
