A new wildfire near Peachland, B.C., has grown rapidly Thursday evening and forced residents of 325 addresses to evacuate.
More than 1,100 properties are under an evacuation alert, which means residents should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
The Central Okanagan Regional District announced the evacuation order Thursday at 6 p.m. PT and added the evacuation alert at around 7:45 p.m. PT.
The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says the fire near Munro Lake — about six kilometres southwest of Peachland, a town of about 5,000 people almost 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver — is also threatening the Munro Lake Forest Service Road and the Peachland Main Road.
The fire started earlier Thursday afternoon, according to the BCWS, and has grown to 0.7 square kilometres (74.3 hectares).
“We do have some gustier winds in that area right now, which are contributing to that heightened fire activity,” said Shae Stearns, a BCWS fire information officer.
Stearns said the fire is currently burning at Rank 3, a classification that indicates a moderately vigorous surface fire.
More than 40 personnel are working on the fire, according to Stearns, as well as air tankers and four helicopters. The Peachland Fire Department is also assisting.
Kirsten Jones, information officer with the regional district’s emergency operations centre, encouraged affected residents to subscribe to the district’s email notification list and register online for updates and access to support.
Evacuated residents who need assistance can go to the muster centre at the Peachland Community Centre for more resources, Jones said.
She also recommended that residents share verified information and check in on neighbours.
The fire is suspected to be human-caused, which is how any wildfire not sparked by lightning is categorized.