Evacuation alert rescinded for Eastgate near the Heather Lake Wildfire

Photo: BCWS

The Heather Lake Wildfire on Tuesday

The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen has rescinded evacuation alerts for Eastgate as of Thursday morning, which was issued previously due to Heather Lake Wildfire burning in Manning Provincial Park.

One-hundred-eighty properties were impacted by the alert last week.

The wildfire is burning across the U.S.-Canada border, about five kilometers southeast of the Manning Park Resort, two kilometers south of Highway 3 and 10 kilometers southwest of Eastgate.

The fire size was estimated at 10,901 hectares as of Tuesday night, which includes the portion burning in the United States. Approximately 5440 hectares are burning in Canada.

BC Parks has issued evacuation orders and alerts for trails and facilities south of Highway 3 that are affected by the fire. For details and a map of affected areas, visit the BC Parks website.

The BC Wildfire Service said that conditions have improved significantly since the weekend with low temperatures and winds and higher humidity reducing fire activity, in their update on Tuesday.

"Visibility will remain a challenge, but favourable conditions are forecasted to continue with rain overnight on the 13-14th."

Highway 3 will continue to see increased smoke and visibility issues, so travellers are advised to slow down and remain aware of their surroundings, and respect all signage posted along the route.