Grass fire near Keremeos under control

KEREMEOS – Two hours after it was spotted this morning, a grass fire near Keremeos is under control.

Firefighters with the Keremeos Fire Department and a three-person initial attack crew from B.C. Wildfire are on the scene mopping up the fire about 8 kilometres west of the village along Highway 3, according to fire information officer Kelsey Winter.

Winter says the fire started around 9 a.m., Aug. 8, and grew to about 1.5 hectares before crews got a handle on the blaze.

She says air tankers were originally requested, but deemed not necessary.

While the cause of the fire is under investigation, Winter says it’s believed to be human-caused.

Drive B.C. says the highway was closed in both directions for about five hours before opening to single lane alternating traffic around 1:30 p.m.

For the latest traffic updates go to the Drive B.C. website.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 2:31 p.m., Saturday, August 8, 2015 to update traffic information.