UPDATE: Peachland Drought Hill wildfire still out of control

The Drought Hill wildfire is still out of control and the evacuation orders are still in effect. The latest information on the fire says that it’s at 27 hectares with 400 properties between the Okanagan Connector and Highway 97 are under evacuation order and 225 properties on evacuation alert, according to the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre. The centre’s communications officer Kari O’Rourke said the cause of the fire is likely a truck towing a trailer that caught fire on the highway yesterday afternoon. She said that there hasn’t been an official investigation yet but that appears to be the cause. RCMP officers and firefighters went around last night to all of the affected addresses to ensure residents had evacuated. BC Wildfire Service has responded with initial attack crews, structure protection crews, helicopters, tankers and skimmers. Municipal firefighters have also responded and helped to protect homes and other structures overnight as wildfire service crews patrolled and put out hotspots. So far no damage to homes or other structures has been reported to the EOC. There are 35 wildfire firefighters on the fire today alongside crews from the Peachland fire Department, according to the wildfire service. Aircraft dropped retardant and water yesterday to cool the fire behaviour but as temperatures rise today fire behaviour will increase. The fire is a rank 2 currently, which means it's mainly a surface fire with some open flame and a slow to moderate rate of spread. Boaters on Lake Okanagan have been advised to get out of the way for aircraft using the lake to fill up. The weather today, July 31, is expected to be extremely hot with a heat warning in effect. Environment Canada has issued a thunderstorm watch for the Okanagan as conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain. O'Rourke said EOC officials are meeting with BC Wildfire Service and Environment Canada in the morning to determine whether evacuation orders or alerts need to be changed so there should be an update this afternoon. Evacuation order and alert Roughly 400 properties east of Trepanier Bench Road, south of Highway 97C and north of Highway 97 are on evacuation order. The EOC hasn't provided a list of the addresses. An evacuation alert is in place for approximately 225 addresses and residents are asked to prepare to be away from their properties for an extended period of time, make arrangements for pets and pack essential items such as medicines and important documents. The following addresses have been included in an evacuation alert: Coldham Road 5006, 5010, 5030, 5050, 5104, 5120 Cousins Road Desert Pines Avenue Dryden Road Inglis Place Lever Court 5126, 5145, 5146, 5156, 5166, 5175, 5186 Mackinnon Road, Point Place Smith Way 5180, 5240, 5250, 5260, 5270, 5280, 5290, 5355 Trepanier Bench Road Trepanier Heights Avenue Trepanier Heights Place Witt PlaceA map of the properties evacuated and those on evacuation alert can be seen here https://www.cordemergency.ca/map . If you need basic emergency support, you can report to the muster centre at Royal LePage Place at 2760 Cameron Avenue in West Kelowna. The second muster centre at Peachland Community Centre has been closed. Click here for updates and tips for packing an evacuation kit. https://www.cordemergency.ca/ To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 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. Find our Journalism Ethics policy here. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/code-of-ethics/it106782 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 .