Flying embers sent aloft by strong winds were the biggest concern facing firefighters Friday afternoon as they try to protect the southeast part of Penticton from the advance of a 2,000-hectare wildfire.
鈥淭he areasa国际传媒 got some second-generation growth as we鈥檝e had a fire through that area in 1994, so although that has been burned off already, there are still significant fuels up there,鈥 Penticton fire Chief Larry Watkinson told reporters at a lunch-hour press conference
鈥淥ur concern is the fuels then carrying through with the wind and landing in our community, starting spot fires in the community and, of course, impacting structures.鈥
To deal with that threat, 110 firefighters and 60 pieces of equipment from departments around sa国际传媒 will be doing 鈥渢actical patrols鈥 and trying to douse spot fires as they start, said Watkinson.
And in areas closest to the urban interface area, massive sprinkler systems will be set up to inject humidity into the air.
Watkinson, who is managing structural protection for the BC Wildfire Service incident command team assigned to the Christie Mountain fire, said efforts have been focused on the Upper Carmi and Upper Wiltse areas of Penticton, where 3,800 properties are under an evacuation alert. Sendero Canyon is also a priority.
A 鈥渢rigger point鈥 has already been selected on a map, and if the fire reaches it, the evacuation alert will then become an evacuation order, according to the chief, who hopes to give people at least four hours to get out.
鈥淭hat being said, a forest fire can change very quickly,鈥 added Watkinson.
The trigger point is in the Upper Bluffs area approximately two kilometres southeast of the Valleyview, Pineview and Wiltse neighbourhoods.
BC Wildfire Service spokesperson Nicole Bonnett said 132 personnel and 15 helicopters are working on the fire today, which is still estimated at 2,000 hectares 鈥 unchanged from Thursday 鈥 because smoke has made it difficult to map.
Southerly wind gusts up to 54 km/h have been reported already today by Environment Canada, which is forecasting gusts up to 60 kmh/h before calming down in the evening.
City manager Donny van Dyk, also the director of the Penticton emergency operations centre, said 2,885 people in the evacuation zone have pre-registered with social services. Those who have done so are urged to visit or call 250-490-2345. Officials say pre-registering will allow them to better prepare for a possible mass evacuation.
One home has been lost to the fire. It was located in the Heritage Hills subdivision on the east side of Skaha Lake about halfway between Penticton and Okanagan Falls. The neighbourhood and others near it, totalling 319 properties in all, are under an evacuation order issued Tuesday about three hours after the fire started.
Within 24 hours, the fire had spread through the hills all along the east side of Skaha Lake, which is 12 kilometres long.
As of Friday, the fire was up against southeastern city limits and only about five kilometers from the downtown core.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
