Orchards helped halt fire

Air tankers buzzed overhead as a thick haze enveloped Oliver, Saturday.

Two wildfires burning on the edge of town each destroyed one home, and flames came within about 50 metres of Helena Souto's house, which was saved by the lush orchard between it and the fire zone.

"We had the sprinkler running overnight, that's maybe why it didn't get too close to the house," she said after returning to survey the damage. "I didn't expect to see the house this morning."

Dozens of fruit trees that served as a makeshift fire guard were scorched, and she expects they'll have to be replanted.

"But that's Mother Nature," Souto said. "You can't stress out about it."

Her neighbour, Spud Torrao, spent the night on top of his home, which was also saved by fruit trees.

"I've lived through burn-outs. I lived in Lilloet and twice I got evacuated, and I said I'm going to stay until the last second until the corner of the house gets going, so I laid up there and I had the water hose," he said.

"I've got a metal roof and said I'll tough it out."

The area's orchards may have prevented more extensive losses, said a spokesman for the Oliver Fire Department.

"Some of those orchards and vineyards that kept stuff green definitely saved those areas," said Rob Graham, one of 30 local firefighters assisting provincial crews.

Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes said more than 40 evacuees slept at the community centre, Friday, while others spent the night in their vehicles or bunked with friends and family.

"Last night, it was pretty horrific when you're at the foot of the hill... and watching flames licking at the backs of houses. It was pretty tense," Hovanes said. "And the smoke was thick. You could hardly breathe."

Both fires continue to smoulder Saturday with small pockets of flame. The B.C. Wildfire Service has three helicopters and 60 crew members on scene.

Chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek said temperatures dropped into the mid-20s Saturday and that the thunderstorms that sparked many of the fires also brought rain. But he said the rain was "highly variable."

"We have weather stations that received quite a bit of rain that are pretty much adjacent to other weather stations that recorded almost nothing," he said.