High winds that fanned Bradley Creek wildfire near Vernon unusual for August

Devastating winds exacerbated the two major wildfires in the Okanagan over the BC Day long weekend, and the valley can expect more strong gusts Wednesday afternoon.

Extreme winds up to 115 km/h fanned the flames at the Bradley Creek wildfire near Vernon and the Quilpituk Creek wildfire on Westside Road.

Most of the Okanagan could get gusts of wind up to 60 km/h Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 5.

“We’re expecting some breezier conditions in Vernon starting tomorrow with those wind gusts getting up to 50, maybe 60 km/h locally in the afternoon,” Environment Canada meteorologist Justin Shelley told iNFOnews.ca.

Temperatures around the region are also expected to rise to the mid-30s for most of the week and then drop a few degrees by the weekend with sunny skies for the foreseeable future.

Kamloops is in a similar situation, but the air quality is worse with a warning in place for the next 24 to 48 hours.

Shelley said the summer months typically don’t see extreme wind events, so this weekend’s conditions were an unfortunate outlier.

“On average, August is one of the least windy months. We typically see some of those stronger systems move through in the shoulder seasons, which give us some higher wind speeds,” he said.

Shelley said in previous years the top recorded wind speeds in the area were typically far lower than the 115 km/h seen over the weekend.

In August 2025, the highest wind speed was only 57 km/h. In 2024 it was 87 km/h and in 2023 the highest wind speed recorded was 60 km/h.

He said people should keep an eye out as temperatures rise and air quality gets worse.

“Make sure you take necessary precautions if you are going to be outside,” he said.