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Kelowna  

Fire burning near Chute Lake

UPDATE 8 P.M. - A forest fire burning east of Chute Lake has now grown to 1.9 hectares in size. Kamloops Fire Information Officer, Michaela Swan says, despite the growth of the fire, crews on scene are making progress. According to Swan 11 fire fighters and three helicopters are actioning the fire. She says crews will remain on scene late into the evening. Plans for fighting the fire Saturday are currently being prepared.


Forestry crews are currently on the scene of a small forest fire burning about 6 kilometres east of Chute Lake.

Forest information officer Michaela Swan says the fire covers approximately .2 of a hectare.

She says the fire was originally called in Thursday night, however, crews flying over the area Friday morning were unable to locate it until it flared up again early Friday afternoon.

"It is burning in logging slash. We have three firefighters on site, two helicopters currently bucketing, and the air tankers did respond and laid retardant," says Swan.

"It's fairly small but what poses a challenge for us is the fuel loading. That slash is quite heavy fuel so we do have a dozer to help establish a guard."

Swan says the fire likely started as a result of a lightning strike from the storm that swept through the Okanagan earlier this week.

"This is very typical of lightning fires. With the rain that comes through it kind of puts them out. They'll simmer down and then the heat of the day will make the pop up again."

The fire is southeast of the site of the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire.

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