iN VIDEO: Flight footage shows hot spots still active at White Rock Lake wildfire

Wildfires may appear to be gone for the season in the Thompson Okanagan, but some of the largest fires still have hot spots.

A Kamloops pilot took his private plane from the Tournament Capital to Vernon and his video footage shows that smoke continues to rise between tree tops at higher elevations.

"I certainly did not expect to see all these fires," Dale Maher said in the video posted to Youtube on his channel How I Fly.

Maher saw remnants of the White Rock Lake wildfire in a flight that took him over Monte Lake and Westwold as he made his way to Vernon in his Vans RV6A on Oct. 1, 2021.

Charred black tree stands and brown forest floor can be seen in the Monte Lake area, but closer to Vernon, where the forest is still thick, hot spots create plumes of smoke on mountain tops.

The sunny, partly cloudy day leaves the forests and topography easy to distinguish as he flies over the valleys.

As winter approaches, firefighters continue ground patrols in the area to douse hot spots that flare up, according to B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Aydan Coray.

Coray could not say how many firefighters remain in the Kamloops Fire Centre as the wildfire season ends, but she said there are still personnel and contractors throughout the region patrolling for hotspots, especially on the largest fires.

The White Rock Lake wildfire, for example, was last estimated to cover a total 83,342 hectares. It was first discovered on July 13 and remains active but under control, according to the wildfire service.

Those largest wildfires are expected to burn into the winter as forest fuels smoulder and, at times, flare up.

Maher's flight footage shows a portion of that wildfire as he travels toward the charred remains of the forests near the northern limits of the Okanagan Valley.

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