Structure fire sending thick, black smoke into skies above Armstrong

Photo: Richard Breaks

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Photo: Richard Breaks Photo: Richard Breaks Photo: Richard Breaks

UPDATE 4:45 p.m.

Homes near a fire in Armstrong were evacuated just after 3 p.m. as a safety precaution and residents of the burned home placed in care of the Red Cross.

Fire broke out at the single-family home, forcing the closure of Sage Avenue.

UPDATE: 2:05 p.m.

Police at the scene of a house fire in Armstrong say everyone got of the building.

There is no word on whether anyone was injured in the blaze.

The fire is said to have started shortly after 1 p.m. on Sage Avenue.

UPDATE: 2 p.m.

Firefighters confirm a blaze near downtown Armstrong is a house fire.

Sage Avenue is closed to access at both ends of the street as crews battle the fire.

It appears that someone may have been carried out of the building wrapped in a blanket.

The cause of the fire and any injuries sustained in it are not yet known.

ORIGINAL: 1:45 p.m.

Firefighters are responding to a structure fire near downtown Armstrong.

The blaze is sending thick, black smoke towering over the North Okanagan community.

The fire is apparently in the Sage Avenue area, near Pleasant Valley Road.

It's unclear at this point if the fire is in a home or an outbuilding.

Firefighters have been dispatched to the scene.

Castanet has a reporter nearby and will update with more information as it becomes available.