Photo: BCWS
UPDATE: 9:35 a.m
Sixteen firefighters are back battling the Blue Mountain wildfire west of Penticton on Saturday.
The fire started on Friday afternoon and quickly spread to about 50 hectares that night. As of Saturday morning, the BC Wildfire Service now estimates its extent at 54 hectares.
Five fire crews remained at the fire overnight.
On Saturday, the 16 firefighters are supported by two helicopters along with heavy machinery. Although six air tankers were used to fight the fire on Friday, no fixed-wing aircraft are being used this morning.
The fire is believed to have been caused by man.
UPDATE: 8:15 a.m
After strong winds caused the Blue Mountain Fire to grow rapidly Friday afternoon, those winds calmed by evening, reducing the fire’s behavior.
As of Saturday morning, the new fire burning west of Penticton is estimated to be about 53 hectares, up slightly from the 50-hectare estimate Friday evening.
“Later in the evening, we were seeing above range 2, which is just a surface fire with a slow rate of spread and a disorganized or inconsistent flame front,” said fire information officer Shaelee Stearns.
During its rapid spread on Friday, the fire displayed a rank 4 behavior.
ORIGINAL: 7:10 a.m
Crews are back on the fire burning west of Penticton Saturday morning after the fast-spreading fire broke out Friday afternoon.
Strong winds across the Okanagan fanned the flames of the Blue Mountain fire, and by Friday evening BC’s wildfire service estimated it was about 50 hectares in size.
The fire, burning north of the now “held” Keremeos Creek fire, is believed to be human-caused.
Six tankers responded to the fire before sunset Friday and 12 BCWS firefighters assisted on the ground. It was unclear Saturday morning how many crews will be working on the fire today.
The Penticton Indian Band has issued an evacuation alert for four properties in the area.
To the west of the Blue Mountain fire, some other new spot-sized fires are also burning. These are believed to have been initiated by lightning.