Penticton was on edge Saturday night as evacuation alerts tied to the Bald Range wildfire reached the city boundary and officials urged residents to prepare grab-and-go kits, according to the City of Penticton.
The city said there was no immediate risk to residents and its emergency operations centre was monitoring the fire with regional partners.
Farther north, the entire District of Summerland was under evacuation order Saturday night, according to the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
The regional district said Summerland’s community-wide evacuation order covers 5,688 properties.
Across the RDOS, 416 properties were under evacuation order and another 1,100 were under evacuation alert.
The regional district said 38 Penticton Indian Band properties were also under evacuation order and 1,082 were under alert.
Bald Range at 10,000-plus hectares
BC Wildfire Service estimated the Bald Range fire at 10,340 hectares Saturday.
The agency said fire behaviour had eased to primarily Rank 2 with pockets of Rank 3 earlier Saturday after the fire reached Rank 5 during its rapid growth Friday night.
BC Wildfire Service said Rank 2 describes a low-vigour surface fire, while Rank 3 involves a moderately vigorous surface fire. It said Rank 5 can involve organized crown fire and long-range spotting.
Environment Canada forecast widespread smoke around Summerland and Penticton overnight, with north winds of 20 km/h gusting to 40 before becoming light.
The agency forecast north winds of 20 km/h gusting to 40 to return Sunday afternoon, with a high of 29 C.
The District of Summerland said electrical crews were restoring power Saturday night where conditions allowed, with critical infrastructure and essential services prioritized.
The district cautioned that power restoration did not mean residents could return home and said the evacuation order covering the community was in effect.
Highway 97 closed
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen said Highway 97 was closed between Antlers Beach and Pyramid Picnic Area because of the wildfire.
The regional district said 201 Forest Service Road was open to non-commercial passenger vehicles travelling between Penticton and Kelowna and warned motorists not to use other forest service roads as evacuation routes.
Farther north, BC Wildfire Service classified the Bradley Creek FSR wildfire northwest of Vernon as being held Saturday evening.
The agency said the fire had previously been classified as out of control.
BC Wildfire Service said being held means the fire is not expected to spread beyond predetermined boundaries under current and forecast conditions with the resources assigned to it.
The Township of Spallumcheen said evacuation orders covering parts of the township were downgraded to alerts Saturday evening and alerts covering other areas were rescinded.
BC Wildfire Service said recent operations on Bradley Creek had seen primarily Rank 1 and Rank 2 fire behaviour, ranging from smouldering ground fire to low-vigour surface fire.
Smoke, wind, heat returns Sunday
Environment Canada forecast widespread smoke in the Vernon area overnight and said winds were expected to ease before temperatures climb Sunday.
In the Cariboo, the Cariboo Regional District said new evacuation action was taken Saturday night because of the Palmer Creek wildfire.
The regional district said it issued an evacuation order at 8 p.m. for part of the Palmer Creek fire area because officials determined the wildfire posed an immediate threat to people in the affected area.
Tŝideldel First Nation, the Tŝilhqot’in National Government, and the regional district also issued an evacuation alert for another area threatened by the Palmer Creek wildfire.
BC Wildfire Service identifies the Palmer Creek wildfire as C51473.
The agency said recent fire activity on Palmer Creek was Rank 1 and Rank 2.
Environment Canada forecast a 30 per cent chance of showers around Williams Lake Sunday afternoon, with northwest winds of about 20 km/h and a high near 24 C.
The province said Saturday that the wildfire situation prompted it to declare a state of provincial emergency.
The province said emergency officials requested the declaration so they would have access to specific additional tools for the wildfire response.
