B.C. Wildfire crews surprised no new fire starts in Okanagan after lightning storm

It was concerning for members of B.C. Wildfire Service to watch the amount of lightning happening in the skies above the Okanagan last night, but no new starts have been reported in the area.

“We were not affected by the thunder storms,” said fire information officer Karley Desrosiers with B.C. Wildfire.

She said crews are surprised there were no new starts after such an active light show.

“It was initially a concern, but fortunately there were no major impacts here.”

In addition to the threat of lightning sparking a new fire, the heavy winds that tend to happen during storms also caused some concern – however that didn't prove to be an issue either.  

There was some rain caused by the storm, however Desrosiers said only two to three millimetres of rain fell on the Keremeos Creek wildfire, compared to a nearby weather station that recorded 10 mm.

There will be more reprieve today, she said, with a higher humidity with temperatures below 30 degrees Celsius in the forecast.

Keremeos Creek is located southwest of Penticton. Crews assigned there are focusing on mopping up hot spots along the Highway 3A corridor, and the fire is most active on the northwest corner where terrain is steep and rocky.

To the south at the Richter Mountain wildfire, which is near Highway 3 between Osoyoos and Keremeos, evacuation alerts were rescinded last night, and it doesn’t appear to be of major concern.

“It’s certainly not a wildfire of note,” Desrosiers said.

She added that the Richter wildfire is active near an area that was impacted by two other wildfires in recent years, so there is a limited amount of fuel for it to consume.

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