Community members, vineyard workers and firemen worked together to contain a blaze on McLean Creek Road near Okanagan Falls this afternoon, August 20.
(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)
August 20, 2015 - 4:52 PM
OKANAGAN FALLS - A brush fire which broke out this afternoon near Okanagan Falls in the South Okanagan is already contained thanks to the quick response from fire crews and residents.
The blaze was reported around 4 p.m., Aug. 20, next to McLean Creek Road about two kilometres east of Okanagan Falls, next to Meyer's Family Vineyards.
It was a true community response, with neighbours and workers from adjacent properties and vineyards rushing to the scene with hand tools to work alongside Okanagan Falls firefighers to corral the blaze, which witnesses say was rapidly spreading.
A quick response from all involved kept the fire from spreading into thicker grass and brush.
A bulldozer was working nearby and the operator volunteered his services to build a fire guard.
Air support was called in, but air suppression was not needed. A helicopter brought in a rapid attack crew and B.C. Wildfire fighters also arrived by ground.
The flames burned approximately a half hectare away from the McLean Creek Road toward the former Weyerhauser mill property by a brisk wind before being stopped by the firefighters, who were on scene for several hours mopping up.
BC Wildfire crews arrive to help Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department stop a wildfire on McLean Creek Road this afternoon.
(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)
To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
- This story was updated at 6:25 p.m., Thursday, August 20 with additional information and photos.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015