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West Kelowna  

Glenrosa fire all but out

UPDATE: Sunday 7 a.m.

The Glenrosa fire is now in "patrol" status.

B.C. Wildfire Service fire information officer Melissa Klassen says "that doesn't mean the fire is out, but that crews have likely finished their mop up and will now just be monitoring the site."

Klassen said no firefighters remained on site overnight, and a small crew will check on the fire today.

Meanwhile, she says the fire situation is looking good across the region.

"It's looking really quiet across the fire centre right now," she said. "Yesterday, we had ideal conditions for fires to start, but it didn't happen. Hopefully, people are listening to the message to be careful out there."

 

No new fires started in the last 24 hours in the Kamloops Fire Centre region, she said.


UPDATE: 4:40 p.m.

Melissa Klassen, B.C. Wildfire Service fire information officer, said there is only a three-person crew left at the fire.

They are starting to pack up their equipment, in preparation for leaving the area. 


UPDATE: Saturday 9 a.m.

Crews fighting the wildfire above Glenrosa are in mop-up mode today.

B.C. Wildfire Service fire information officer Melissa Klassen says a unit crew of 20 firefighters worked late into the night Friday establishing a guard around the perimeter of the 1.3-hectare fire.

"Five firefighters stayed on scene overnight to ensure there was no spotting or that anything escaped the guard," Klassen said this morning.

That crew will be turning over efforts to another five-man crew, working on mop up and extinguishing hot spots.

Klassen said fire activity this morning will determine the need for any continued air support.

However, she did emphasize that extremely low humidity coupled with high temperatures continue to pose a danger in the woods.

"We remind everyone to be cautious," she said. "If a fire starts in these conditions, it will be very combustible."

Klassen anticipates, given the good progress made Friday evening, the fire will likely be out sometime today.

The fire is burning at a Rank 1 or less, she said, meaning it is smouldering rather than exhibiting open flame.


UPDATE 6:25 p.m.

Fire crews have made good progress on the wildfire burning above Glenrosa.

Melissa Klassen with Wildfire Management says the blaze at the top end of Glenrosa Road remains at 1.3 hectares in size.

“We had two air tanker groups respond to this incident and those air tankers have now completed their action. Basically, fire behaviour has decreased substantially and it's quiet right now.”

The fire is considered a Rank 1, a smouldering ground fire.

A crew of 20 firefighters remains on site and will stay on until late in the evening to construct a guard around the perimeter.

Klassen says the blaze was blanketed in retardant.

“Things look really good right now, and they are working to establish that guard containment."


UPDATE: 5:10 p.m.

A resident in the area, Sandy Siewert, said she is concerned about the fire moving downhill toward her property. She has lived in the area for 13 years and has been evacuated once before. 

She was packing her RV in preparation of an evacuation at 4:15 this afternoon. She also had someone coming by to take her horses away.

"A neighbour went up there on her horse, and they said they were going to evacuate us," Siewart said. 

There has been no official word on an evacuation as of yet.

"There's not many (houses) up there, but the worry is that everything's so dry that it's going to come this way," Seiwart said. "We're prepared, but not really."


UPDATE: 3:45 p.m.

Bombers are now dropping fire retardant and a bucket helicopter is dropping water on a small wildfire burning in Upper Glenrosa.

RCMP have closed off Glenrosa Road at Carre Road and are only letting residents through.

Const. Ryan Smith confirmed at the scene that no homes are in the immediate area of the fire.

Sarah Gray who lives in the area was asked if she is concerned about the fire coming down the hill toward her home.

"With the winds, yea but I think the firefighters are going to have it under control.  The crews are good at what they do," said Gray.


ORIGINAL

A wildfire is burning in Upper Glenrosa.

The fire began Friday afternoon in the Jack Creek area, near Carre Road.

The fire has grown and is burning vigorously since it was first reported about 2:30 p.m. West Kelowna firefighters have responded to the blaze.

B.C. Wildfire Service skimmer planes were seen circling the area.

Fire information officer Melissa Klassen says seven provincial firefighters were en route, along with an air tanker and a bucketing helicopter.

Klassen says the fire is burning in a forested area with some open flame visible.

There are homes in the area, however, she says none of those homes are currently threatened time.

The fire is less than a hectare in size.

Castanet has a reporter on scene and will update with more information shortly.



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