Smoke coming from the fire south of Peachland Wednesday, July 17 (submitted photo)

By Liam Verster

Fire Contained

UPDATE: Fire south of Peachland Being Held

Jul 17, 2024 | 10:22 AM

Update 5 p.m. July 17

The wildfire south of Peachland is not expected to grow any further.

The B.C. Wildfire Service downgraded the fire along Highway 97 from Out of Control to Being Held at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 17.

The fire was first discovered on the side of the highway about three kilometres south of Peachland at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday.

At the time of discovery it was only 0.3 hectares in size, but through the day the blaze grew and burned 6 hectares of terrain.

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The BCWS dispatched air tankers to the scene early in the day, and then responded to the blaze with two initial attack crews, two response officers, skimmers, a helicopter and a water tender.

The fire departments from Peachland and Summerland were also dispatched to assist with controlling the fire.

The BCWS said the fire was suspected of being human caused.

–UPDATE 3 p.m. July 17–

There was significant growth of a wildfire near Peachland Wednesday.

The B.C. Wildfire Service said the fire located next to Highway 97 and approximately three kilometres south of Peachland, had grown to 6 hectares in size by 2:40 p.m. July 17.

The BCWS said two initial attack crews, two response helicopters, a water tender, skimmers and a helicopter were responding to the blaze, while the Peachland and Summerland Fire Departments were also assisting in extinguishing the blaze.

The provincial wildfire service noted the fire was still classified as Out of Control, but noted crews were making progress on the north and south flanks.

The fire is suspected of being caused by human activity.

The wildfire was first reported at around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, July 17, and was initially 0.3 hectares in size, but then grew to 1.3 hectares by noon.

— UPDATE 12 p.m. July 17 —

The wildfire discovered south of Peachland Wednesday morning has spread.

The B.C. Wildfire Service said the fire that was discovered on the west side of Highway 97 between Peachland and Summerland was 1.3 hectares in size as of 11:56 a.m. July 17.

The fire was classified as Out of Control and suspected of being caused by human activity.

The BCWS had dispatched two initial attack crews, two response officers, a helicopter and a water tender to fight the fire. The Peachland and Summerland Fire Departments are also responding to the blaze.

— Original Story —

A second fire in as many weeks has sparked near Peachland.

The B.C. Wildfire Service said a 0.3 hectare fire was reported just off Highway 97 between Peachland and Summerland at around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, July 17.

An update from the BCWS at 9:50 a.m. said the fire was classified as out of control, with an initial attack crew being dispatched to the scene.

The cause of the fire was undetermined at the time.