A wildfire has closed a critical highway in B.C.’s Okanagan region, with the blaze also prompting the tactical evacuation of 400 nearby properties.
The closure of the Okanagan Connector (Highway 97C) stretches from the junction of Highway 97 to the junction of Highway 5A, a distance of 82.5 kilometres.
DriveBC says a stretch of Highway 97 between Peachland and the Highway 97C junction has also been closed in both directions due to the fire, which was measured at 12 hectares in size as of 4:30 p.m. PT Wednesday.
The fire is suspected to have been started by human activity, a broad category that includes any fire not caused by lightning.
The Regional District of Central Okanagan’s emergency operations centre said in a statement around 4:45 p.m. PT that residents of around 400 properties were ordered to leave, and evacuation alerts will be issued.
Evacuation centres have been set up at the Peachland Community Centre and West Kelowna’s Royal LePage Place, according to officials.
⛔🔥<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCHwy97?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BCHwy97</a> – The highway is CLOSED in both directions between <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Peachland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Peachland</a> and the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCHwy97C?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BCHwy97C</a> junction due to a developing wildfire. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WestKelowna?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WestKelowna</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kelowna?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Kelowna</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/OkanaganHwy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#OkanaganHwy</a> <br>The <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCHwy97C?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BCHwy97C</a> eastbound at the junction is also closed. Full closure anticipated for Highway 97C.… <a href=”https://t.co/JTV8fOIXEU”>pic.twitter.com/JTV8fOIXEU</a>
An evacuation alert means that residents should be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice, while an evacuation order means that residents should leave immediately.
Kari O’Rourke, the communications officer for the Regional District of Central Okanagan’s emergency operations centre, had said around 4 p.m. PT that tactical evacuations were already underway.
“It was pretty much firefighters knocking on doors doing tactical evacuations,” she told Sarah Penton, host of CBC’s Radio West, just after 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
More details on evacuations will be posted to the cordemergency.ca website, according to the official.
The blaze was sparked amid a sweltering week for the southern B.C. Interior, with Environment Canada maintaining a heat warning for the Okanagan Valley on Wednesday.
Officials have not yet been categorized the fire as a “wildfire of note,” a designation that means it is particularly visible or poses a threat to public safety.
Two other major fires are burning in the southern half of the province — including the Bear Creek wildfire near Harrison Lake, and a fire south of Lytton that has prompted evacuation alerts.
Kelowna RCMP said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon that firefighting helicopters would be using nearby Okanagan Lake to refuel, and that boaters should avoid the area.
“Boaters are asked to be aware and not obstruct the aircraft from accessing the lake in their firefighting efforts,” the statement reads.
RCMP said that the closures on Highway 97 and Highway 97C would last for an indefinite amount of time.
