North Okanagan wildfire continues to grow

A wildfire located between Vernon and Salmon Arm continues to grow today. As of 10 a.m. Aug. 6, the Hullcar Mountain wildfire is now at 330 hectares in size and out of control, according to the BC Wildfire Service. More than 100 properties have been put on evacuation alert in the...

North Okanagan wildfire continues to grow

A wildfire located between Vernon and Salmon Arm continues to grow today. As of 10 a.m. Aug. 6, the Hullcar Mountain wildfire is now at 330 hectares in size and out of control, according to the BC Wildfire Service. More than 100 properties have been put on evacuation alert in the Silver Creek area which covers parts of the Township of Spallumcheen, the Splatsin First Nation and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. The fire was discovered on Sunday, Aug. 4 and is thought to have been caused by lightning. BC Wildfire Service says increased winds saw the fire grow overnight and saw "significant" growth moving south. Three helicopters are currently deployed to fight the fire. Yesterday, Aug. 5, heavy equipment constructed fire guards and five ground crews continued fire suppression reinforcing the machine guards with laying hoses. Following complaints from residents about people stopping to take photos on Salmon River Road causing heavy traffic problems, the district is asking non-residents to avoid the area. "Numerous residents under evacuation alert are moving livestock and other items along that route," the regional district said in a release. To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer mailto:bbulmer@infonews.ca or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .