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West Kelowna  

Tankers battling blaze

UPDATE: 9:56 p.m.

According to fire information officer Justine Hunse the fire is now measured at .53 hectares in size.

They still have three firefighters on site who will be working into the night.

The firefighters will be returning on Sunday, she said.


UPDATE: 7:24 p.m.

The area of the fire has now been mapped at one hectare in size, according to fire information officer Justine Hunse.

There are three firefighters on scene for the evening and two air tankers have ringed the area with retardant.

The two tankers have now been released.

Hunse said they suspect the fire to be human-caused.


ORIGINAL: 4:35 p.m.

A small wildfire has been sparked in the Garnet Valley area, between Peachland and Summerland.

The BC Wildfire Service has sent two air tankers to fight the fire, along with three firefighters.

The blaze appears to have started Saturday afternoon, but Justine Hunse, fire information officer, says they don't know exactly when it began.

The blaze is currently 0.2 hectares in size, and is burning about three kilometres west of Highway 97.

Hunse says there is a building within one kilometre of the fire, but she couldn't elaborate on what type of building it is.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Garnet Valley wildfire is currently the only wildfire burning in the Central Okanagan. 

On June 13, a 2.5 hectare wildfire, the first of the season in the Central Okanagan, was sparked off Westside Road.

This year, the Kamloops Fire Centre, which extends north to Wells Gray Provincial Park, south to the United States border, west to Lillooet and east to Revelstoke, has responded to the 36 wildfires, covering a total area of 57 hectares. 

This time last year the Kamloops Fire Centre had responded to 67 fires, covering 211 hectares. 



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