Strong winds fanned the flames of a wildfire in B.C.’s north Okanagan, forcing additional evacuations as crews struggled to battle the blaze.
The Bradley Creek wildfire is estimated at just over 26 square kilometres as of Sunday morning after a period of rapid growth fueled by gusts of between 70 km/h on the ground and 115 km/h at elevation, according to officials.
“These winds caused significant challenges and the firefighters, helicopters, airtankers and skimmers were unable to hold the fire,” an online update from the B.C. Wildfire Service said.
Four evacuation orders are in effect, as well as five evacuation alerts.
Kate Erickson, whose 160-acre property is in the evacuation zone, said when the wind whipped up, her family scrambled to get their animals loaded into vehicles.
“They’ve got the cat, the dogs, and the horses and a change of underwear, maybe,” she said. “It breaks my heart.”
Some evacuees are being directed to a reception centre at Kal Tire Place in Vernon.
One woman who fled there with her husband and their dogs described how tense things were before the order came down.
“It was very scary. It was the whole day of seeing the fire,” she said. “Everything was orange.”
Although the evacuation order didn’t catch her and her husband completely off guard, she described the panic that set in when it was issued.
“It was just running, running, running because you’re never totally prepared; you think you have everything, but you don’t,” she said.
The fire crossed Highway 97, resulting in its closure in both directions between Salmon River Road and Old Kamloops Road. However, it did not cross Okanagan Lake overnight, according to the BCWS.
