Rose Valley Dam wildfire held at 3 hectares

UPDATE: 8 p.m.

Firefighters from the BC Wildfire Service have been making quick work of the Rose Valley Dam fire.

The Kamloops Fire Centre has listed the fire, which was spotted Sunday afternoon, as held.

Fire information officer Gagan Lidhran says "they don't anticipate any fire spread from the existing boundaries."

"We don't anticipate it to move any further," she said.

The fire has been held at three hectares in size.

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UPDATE 4:53 p.m.

The Kamloops Fire Centre is now classifying the Rose Valley Dam fire as "being held."

Fire Information Officer, Taylor MacDonald tells Castanet, "the fire is classified as being held and it's still estimated at 3 hectares in size." MacDonald says there are still 27 fire fighting personnel battling the blaze and one water tender.

Crews have been pouring water on the fire all day long with multiple photos and videos of water bombers dousing the fire from above. All that attention has managed to keep the fire from spreading and allowed firefighters to keep the fire from spreading.

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UPDATE 10:50 a.m.

BC Wildfire Services have deployed more resources to the Rose Valley Dam wildfire Monday.

Gagan Lidhran, fire information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre says the Rose Valley Dam wildfire is still listed as out of control but has not grown from it's listed size of 3 hectares. So there was no growth overnight and the cause is still unknown.

"There are 27 personnel and aerial support on the scene fighting that wildfire. We are doing everything we can and we are still fighting the fire," Lidhran says.

There are 19 active wildfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre – 17 of them have started since Friday of the long weekend.

As the long weekend comes to a close fire officials are reminding the public to make sure their campfires are out and cold to the touch before leaving the fires unattended in order to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires.

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ORIGINAL 8:30 a.m.

The Rose Valley Dam wildfire is still listed as out of control Monday morning but appears much smaller.

New pictures of the Rose Valley Reservoir show a smaller plume of smoke surrounded by red fire retardent.

Fire information officer, Gagan Lidhran, with the Kamloops Fire Centre tells Castanet fire personnel remained on scene overnight to monitor and ensure it didn't spread.

West Kelowna Fire Chief, Jason Brolund tells Castanet they responded to reports of a fire just after 2 p.m. Sunday near the Rose Valley Reservoir.

"First responding firefighters spotted a growing wildfire burning on the west side of the reservoir (the opposite side from the city). Three engine crews (12 firefighters) from West Kelowna hiked into the fire and began constructing a fire guard. Multiple crews from BC Wildfire Service also responded quickly and joined WKFR firefighters," Brolund says.

Multiple helicopters and fixed wing air tankers from BC Wildfire arrived to lay down fire retardant to “box-in” the fire as well as bucket water onto active burning areas in support of ground crews.

Crews from BC Wildfire and WKFR worked together to construct a fireguard, secure a water supply and contain the fire. It is expected to remain active well into the evening.

Brolund also, "requests that people stay out of the immediate area surrounding the reservoir, to enable firefighters and aircraft to do their jobs safely and effectively. Also, please stay away from helicopters who may be refilling on Okanagan Lake."

Brolund says the fire does not appear to be affecting the reservoir or water supply. Incident Commanders are working alongside City of West Kelowna staff to ensure this remains the case.