Fire
Snow guns at Apex Mountain ski resort near Penticton, BC, are primed and ready if the Keremeos Creek wildfire threatens the resort. The fire is currently about three miles away from the resort.
#KeremeosCreekWildfire from Highway 3A just before noon. Helicopters working hard. Very steep terrain and hot winds. pic.twitter.com/6xCAfyjJu3
— Johanna Wagstaffe (@JWagstaffe) August 1, 2022
The resort has begun placing snowmaking guns in strategic locations around the resort and they are ready to go if necessary.
“The snow making machines can shoot water 150 feet and they oscillate. They can put out a large amount of moisture in the air.”
– James Shalman, Apex Mountain Resort general manager
The Keremeos Creek wildfire began on Friday 29th July and has burned around 7,000 acres. The cause is currently unknown.
Fire growth is in steep and inaccessible terrain. Crews are building contingency lines, while continuing to concentrate their efforts on areas impacting residents; supporting Structure Protection.
“It’s not a very predictable wildfire. It’s an out-of-control wildfire.”
– B.C. Wildfire Service information officer Bryan Zandberg
Structural Protection has deployed resources on homes and infrastructure as needed and triaging additional sites should continued work be required. Crews are actively building contingency lines on the south side of the ravine on Sheep Creek Road. Crews are building hand lines at the south of Green Mountain Road over to Highway 3. And crews are also working along Green Mountain Road.
The entire Apex Mountain village and surrounding areas were put on evacuation alert on Saturday night. In total, the wildfire has forced the evacuation of 324 properties with another 438 are on evacuation alert.
Resources
• 144 firefighters
• 9 helicopters
• 4 heavy equipment
