UPDATE: Boaters asked to stay away from wildfire burning near shore of Shuswap Lake

The B.C. Wildfire Service is asking boaters on Shuswap Lake to stay out of the way of aircraft fighting a fire burning near the shore of Shuswap Lake Marine Provincial Park.

The wildfire service reports the one hectare fire is burning near Marble Point, roughly 8.5 kilometres north of Sicamous. The fire was discovered Aug. 3.

In a post to Facebook, the wildfire service said boaters are interfering with firefighting aircraft on Shuswap Lake.

"This sort of behaviour is dangerous, both to people on the boat and to our personnel, and interferes with critical firefighting operations. Please stay away from active wildfire sites whether on the ground, in the air, or on the water," the post reads.

The wildfire service says 25 personnel are working the fire today, Aug. 4, and no structures are threatened at this time. The cause of the fire is unknown.

A video posted online by Bigwater Taxi on Shuswap Lake reported the fire was about 25 feet in diameter but quickly spread 300 or 400 feet up the ridge. Reports on social media state fireworks were seen in the area before the fire started.

— This story was updated at 12:05 p.m. and at 1:37 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020 to include new information from B.C. Wildfire Service.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.