KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A B.C. wildfire threatening homes along the west side of Okanagan Lake grew dramatically Tuesday morning.
The Westside Road blaze had burned just a few hectares about 20 kilometres north of West Kelowna since it was sparked by lightning on Sunday, but it flared up in stiff winds on Monday.
Regional District spokesman Bruce Smith said it had charred 1.75-square kilometres of timber and bush on steep hillside above the lake and remained uncontained.
Evacuation orders were issued late Monday for 70 properties including several along Westside Road, the main route between West Kelowna and the north Okanagan.
"The fire came really close to some of the structures," Smith said. "But at this point, even though it is an active fire, we are not aware of any structures known to be lost."
Evacuation alerts were also issued for other properties in the region and BC Hydro said 1,400 customers were without power after the utility had to cut electricity as the fire came close to a transmission line.
Another major blaze in the Shuswap region southwest of Salmon Arm grew to three-square kilometres since it was sparked Monday and prompted evacuation orders for 24 properties, including one resort, around Bolean Lake.
Evacuation alerts have also been issued for several other areas of the province, including 28 homes near Ashcroft close to the 2.5-square kilometre Coldstream wildfire and 80 properties near Bear Creek Provincial Park, just outside West Kelowna.
Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says 60 fires were sparked within 24 hours on Monday and almost all were caused by lightning.
There have been almost 1,200 wildfires this season in B.C. and there are currently 216 burning, 15 of which are considered major fires.
