As wildfires spread across western Canada, more people are being forced to evacuate their communities and homes. In the southern tip of the B.C. Okanagan Valley, hundreds of properties have been ordered to evacuate. This comes after another wildfire sparked on Monday afternoon, and grew very quickly in a matter of hours.
Fire officials in the area told citizens to expect more evacuation alerts and orders in the near future. The fire started at a size of 0.03 square kilometres and in a few hours, it grew to three square kilometres. By 9 p.m. last night, the fire was seven square kilometres and crews had to stay overnight.
The area burning, Oliver-Osoyoos is a popular tourist destination for wineries. The initial evacuation order covered almost 200 properties and was issued by the Osoyoos Indian Band Monday evening. Chief Clarence Louie and the Band said the Oliver Fire Department saved the houses closest to the fires. Louie said “As far as we know, at this moment, no houses have been lost, which is great… They did an outstanding job.”
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