B.C. wildfire prompts evacuation order south of Peachland

The evacuation order covers several properties along Brent Rd. and Highway 97 South that are close to the 50-hectare blaze. (Pixabay photo)

SUMMERLAND, B.C. — An evacuation order has been issued for several properties south of Peachland in British Columbia’s southern Interior due to a wildfire and Highway 97 between the town and Summerland has been closed.

The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations centre says residents in the evacuation zone “should leave their properties immediately” and report to a reception centre at the Lakeview Heights Baptist Church in West Kelowna to receive assistance and lodging.

The evacuation order covers several properties along Brent Rd. and Highway 97 South that are close to the 50-hectare blaze.

Several other properties south of Kelowna were placed on evacuation alert late Wednesday due to a wildfire in the Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park.

The B.C. Wildfire Service has three helicopters and more than 40 ground crews working roughly eight kilometres southwest of Summerland to fight the first which is believed to have been sparked by lightning.

Central Okanagan Emergency Operations says the Good Creek fire covered about 200 hectares but was not yet posing an immediate threat to structures. Residents in the alert zone (on Lakeshore Road) were advised to be ready to evacuate should conditions change.

The wildfire service said crews responded to seven new lightning-caused fires in the Cariboo Fire Centre, in the province’s central Interior, between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.

It says two are in the Quesnel Lake area, and the largest is a two-hectare blaze located on the northwest side of the lake.