233050

Vernon  

Cause of fire released

UPDATE 3:44 P.M.

The cause of the Kokanee Road fire has been determined.

Vernon deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood said the fire was caused by a downed power line.

“It was a line coming loose off a power pole. It appears to have come down in the wind and it appears to have ignited one of the trees,” said Skolrood. “It was a power line out in the middle of nowhere.”

Fire information officer Rachel Witt said the fire is 95 per cent contained and is in the mop up stage.

Witt said 20 more forestry firefighters arrived on scene this afternoon.

VFR Chief Keith Green said the wildfire crews are being assisted by eight Vernon firefighters.

"The fire is all contained and now we are just walking through putting out hotspots," said Green.


UPDATE: 10:30 a.m 

The City of Vernon reports that the Kokanee Road fire near Predator Ridge is fully contained.

Emergency personnel have now rescinded the evacuation alert for approximately 45 residences in the area.

“There are still some existing hot spots and noticeable smoke in the area, and firefighters will continue to monitor the area,” writes the city. 


ORIGINAL: 7:45 a.m. 

Provincial firefighters remain on the scene alongside the Vernon Fire Department Sunday as they work to mop-up the wildfire near Predator Ridge.

The province has named this fire the Kokanee Road Fire and will continue to work on it throughout the day.

Fire information officer Rachel Witt says the blaze is almost entirely contained and is holding at about six hectares in size.

“There was very minimal growth overnight,” says Witt. “The fire is currently showing Rank 1 fire behaviour, with very minimal smoke.”

Witt says three provincial firefighters remain on site this morning. That small crew will be replaced by a larger crew of 20 provincial firefighters later today, to continue to mop-up the blaze.

“Crews will be working on mop-up operations, including danger-tree falling and applying water on hot spots,” says Witt.

“Crews overnight were able to continue working on the fire perimeter and establish quite a bit of containment.”

An exact containment number is still be calculated.

Witt says weather conditions were favourable for crews fighting this blaze, as well as those fighting the Antler Beach and Wolfe Creek fires.

“They are all in mop-up, crews are on site at all of them,” says Witt. “With this weather we are seeing right now, it is definitely helpful with decreasing fire behaviour.”

Vernon got some precipitation overnight and Witt says other areas have remained cooler with minimal wind.

“It does take quite a bit of precipitation to put out a wildfire, but it is definitely helpful,” says Witt. “That with cooler temperatures in all three areas. And, as of this morning, wind has been pretty calm.”

The evacuation alert for nearby residents will remain in place until further notice

Send all your fire photos, video and tips to [email protected]



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