Oliver resident Elizabeth Jago took this photo of the Nk'Mip Creek wildfire, Thursday, July 22, 2021.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Elizabeth Jago
July 24, 2021 - 9:25 AM
New evacuation orders have been issued for South Okanagan homes and a ski resort as firefighters continue to battle a wildfire near Osoyoos.
An evacuation order, issued by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, says two properties on McKinney Road have been ordered to evacuate. Visit the regional district's website for more information.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary has also issued evacuation orders for properties in and around the Baldy Mountain neighbourhood, including Baldy Mountain Resort, of Electoral Area E/West Boundary as the Nk’Mip Creek Wildfire continues to grow. "The total number of properties now under evacuation order is 248, and 318 properties remain on evacuation alert until further notice," according to the regional district. For more information, visit the regional district's website.
Last night, an evacuation order was lifted from Spirit Ridge Resort and it will be used to house B.C. Wildfire Service firefighters.
Spirit Ridge Resort was previously under an evacuation order by the Osoyoos Indian Band, but that order was changed last night to an alert at midnight, said band chief operating officer Mike Campbol.
The resort will be used as the main camp for 170 B.C. Wildfire Service crews as well as Mexican firefighters working on the Nk'Mip Creek wildfire burning to the south of Osoyoos, said wildfire information officer Dani McIntosh.
B.C. Wildfire's incident command post will still be located at the Southern Okanagan Secondary School, she said.
Spirit Ridge said in a Facebook post that it will be welcoming guests with pre-existing reservations with arrival dates of this Saturday, July 24 and onwards and will take new reservations starting on Sunday, July 25.
Fire crews will be dining in the resort’s Coyote Ballroom for daily meals.
The Nk'Mip Creek wildfire is 6,800 hectares in size and still classified as out of control, but McIntosh said crews didn’t see significant growth on the fire overnight.
Crews are seeing a similar trend with winds today as in the last few days, blowing from the north and beginning to switch west and then switching back to blowing from the north tonight, she said.
Wildfire crews are prioritizing the McKinney Road area today and reinforcing east guards by removing forest fuels as well as continuing structure protection efforts for the Shrike Road and Anarchist Mountain areas, she said.
Crews are continuing suppression action and structure protection work on the north and south edges of the fire, according to B.C. Wildfire. "Heavy equipment will work on constructing a machine guard to the east and near Shrike (Road). The terrain is steep and rocky in some areas which can limit the use of equipment. Construction of machine guard on the south flank is ongoing."
Yesterday, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen confirmed one home and one camper burned in the fire in the Shrike Road area, but at the time they didn’t know the extent of the damage.
Today there are 146 wildfire personnel on site, five aircrafts and 41 equipment operations and the group of 100 personnel from Mexico will arrive tomorrow, McIntosh said.
READ MORE: Camper and house burn in Nk'Mip Creek wildfire near Osoyoos
- This story was updated at 12 p.m. to include new evacuation orders from the RDKB.
- This story was updated at 11:30 a.m. with the new evacuation order from the RDOS.
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