UPDATE: 4 p.m.
All evacuation alerts have been rescinded for Peachland and in the West Electoral Area of the Central Okanagan, according to a Central Okanagan Emergency Services Centre news release.
The following addresses and streets in Peachland are no longer on alert:
6107 – 6146 AITKENS RD
4720 - 4728 BLACKSMITH PL
6205 - 6230 BONNIE LANE
6272 – 6590 BULYEA AVE
6148 – 6178 DAVIES CRES
4948 – 5079 ELLIOTT AVE
6503 – 6551 FERGUSON PL
6093 – 6212 GUMMOW RD
6649 HARDY ST
6040 – 6054 HAWKES ST
6201 – 6265 HEIGHWAY LANE
5920 – 6663 HWY 97
2-6663 HWY 97 – 34-6663 HWY 97
6696, 6705 HWY 97
1-6711 HWY 97– 40-6711 HWY 97
5247 INGA ST
6400 – 6493 KEYES AVE
6106 – 6266 LIPSETT AVE
6421 - 6465 MACK RD
5440 – 5463 MCDOUGALD RD
6229 – 6261 MILLER RD
5420 – 5443 PIERCE PL
5357 – 5495 PIERCE ST
5960 – 5976 PRINCESS ST
4525 – 5379 PRINCETON AVE (odd addresses on south side)
6472 – 6486 RENFREW CRT
6226 – 6650 RENFREW RD
RENFREW RD PARK CEMETERY
6482 – 6568 SHERBURN RD
6404 – 6439 STUART CRES
6471 – 6485 STUART CRES S
6267 SUNDSTROM CRT
6691 – 6789 THORNE RD
6306 – 6376 TOPHAM PL
6363 – 6575 VERNON AVE
6203 – 6297 WHINTON CRES
6107 - 6192 WILSON RD
6325 – 6391 YORK LANE
The following properties in the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area are no longer on alert:
303 – 307 LOG CHUTE RD
7100 – 7210 BRENT RD
6801 – 6895 HWY 97 SOUTH
7212 – 7280 HWY 97 SOUTH
Finlay Creek Cabins
Mt. Eneas Wildfire – all Evacuation Alerts rescinded https://t.co/3I6R1kt1rn
— Central Ok Emergency (@CO_Emerg) July 25, 2018
UPDATE: 2 p.m.
Mount Eneas, the wildfire just outside Peachland is expected to grow in a southerly direction today, assuming that the weather forecast pans out.
The fire currently sits at an estimated 1,793 hectares in size and is still considered out of control.
The biggest challenge for the time being is that public interest is high and slowing traffic is an issue, said Noelle Kekula, in her afternoon statement.
Crews are continuing to establish control lines and are building hose line from the north to south sides of the fire.
Currently there are 97 personnel are on site, and five air support.
UPDATE: 9 a.m.
The BC Wildfire Service says the Mount Eneas wildfire, south of Peachland, is still considered “out of control” as of Wednesday morning.
The fire is currently estimated at 1,793 hectares in size.
“Today’s objectives are to continue to tie the merging fires with control lines. Crews continue to build hose line from north to south on each side of the fire,” says fire information officer Marla Catherall.
“Today we have 97 personnel in total on site, 82 of which are BC Wildfire Service personnel and 15 are contract crews. We also continue to have night crews on both the east and west flanks who will continue to extinguish hot spots and patrol.”
As for the smaller nearby Peachland creek wildfire, about 2.5 kilometres west of Peachland, Catherall says it is being held at 23.1 hectares
“That means we do not anticipate any further growth due to weather conditions and suppression efforts,” says Catherall.
“We have 15 personnel on site today and two pieces of heavy equipment. This fire is in very steep terrain, in particular the west flank.
”Today’s objectives are to continue to work on the workable sections. The entire fire has been hand guarded and crews are working to completely extinguish hotpots in the ravine.”
—-
ORIGINAL: 6:30 a.m.
The Mount Eneas wildfire burning near Peachland grew slightly Tuesday and was last mapped at 1,793 hectares.
This blaze is classified as out-of-control as BC Wildfire Service cannot guarantee that it won’t continue to spread if fuelled by wind, and BC Wildfire predicts that will generally be in a southerly direction.
RELATED: Vehicles, out buildings burned in wildfire near Peachland
BC Wildfire is continuing to merge fires in the Peachland region with control lines as well as burn out any fuels as needed.
“Firefighters are extinguishing any hot spots that are left behind from these small scale burn operations,” states BC Wildfire.
Evacuation alerts for 698 properties in the Central Okanagan Regional District within the vicinity of the Mt. Eneas fire remain in place.
Properties on Alert include:
- 7100 – 7210 Brent Road
- 7212 – 7280 Highway 97 South
- Finlay Creek Cabins
The fire was significantly smaller going into the weekend, but it was intentionally expanded as part of a larger plan to gain control over the blaze that was sparked by lightning last week.
Glen Burgess, incident commander for the Okanagan complex of wildfires told media Sunday afternoon that BC Wildfire intentionally increased the size of the Mount Eneas fire, forcing it to join with the nearby Munro Forest Service Road Wildfire wildfire.
“The objective was to remove that fuel at our time when the weather was co-operating,” said Burgess.
READ MORE: EVACUATION NUMBERS REMAIN HIGH
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Moving forward temperatures are expected to rise, though and that may present challenges.