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Penticton  

Mushroom cloud pierces sky

While the Okanagan remains smothered under a thick blanket of wildfire smoke, one might forget there is a blue sky up there somewhere.

South Okanagan pilot Craig Russell flew over the Snowy Mountain wildfire yesterday afternoon during a spike in fire activity at 1:15 p.m., capturing spectacular photos of a mushroom cloud puncturing the haze.

Russell says the cloud grew between 5,000 and 8,000 feet as they approached, reaching about 35,000 feet at its highest — typical cruising altitude for a commercial airliner.

The 13,300 hectare Snowy Mountain fire south of Keremeos is still considered “held” by the BC Wildfire Service. The province says the visible increase in activity over the past few days has occurred within the fire perimeter.



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