Photo: Tonii Braden

A grass fire at the southern edge of West Bench on Penticton Indian Band land drew a three-alarm response early Sunday morning and threatened several area homes.

The blaze was called in at 12:21 a.m. and it took the combined squads close to four hours to knock it down.

"It was a fast-moving, mostly grass fire," said Penticton Fire Department Capt. Rob Trupp. "Our crews got on it with the help of the PIB. They managed to get it under control."

Trupp said the combined forces were able to save area homes from potential catastrophe.

"They managed to steer it from homes," Trupp said. "They cut it off before it got close to homes. PIB was [already] on scene. They brought one of their trucks up."

Trupp said the blaze quickly grew to 4 or 5 hectares in size, and it took a significant response to fight.

There were seven apparatus and 22 firefighters on scene from Penticton Fire Department, Trupp said.

There were reports that a vehicle fire sparked the large blaze, but that has not been confirmed. The cause is still under investigation.

Photo: Mike Biden

The aftermath of a large grass fire near Penticton.