Finlay Creek wildfire 15 per cent contained

PENTICTON – The Finlay Creek wildfire has grown, but calm winds and cooler temperatures have slowed fire behaviour.

Heather Rice with B.C. WIldfire says the blaze is now 1,300 hectares in size and is 15 per cent contained.

"With these calmer winds, we haven’t seen a lot of aggressive behaviour, it’s more like rank one and two, so we have had success with heavy equipment putting in guard lines,” she says.

Rice says if today’s, Sept. 1, weather holds some back burning may take place.

There are currently 66 firefighters working the blaze, including tree fallers and structural protection staff, 11 helicopters and 30 pieces of heavy equipment.

Fire spread has been limited to the area around Mount Acland, wrapping around the south flank of Mount Acland to the southeast boundary of Darke Lake Provincial Park, Rice says.

Officials with Central Okanagan Emergency Operations say stronger winds are expected in the next few days and expectations are the fire will become more volatile.

All evacuation alerts remain in place at this time.

A detailed map is available showing the approximately 306 affected properties in the Central Okanagan at www.cordemergency.ca. For information about properties affected south of Peachland, visit the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen website.

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