1 structure destroyed after wildfire southwest of Penticton jumps road

One structure has been destroyed and dozens of properties are on evacuation order after the Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton, B.C., grew overnight and jumped a road.

The blaze, which started Friday, is among a large number of fires that were sparked across the province after a week of extreme temperatures. Of B.C.'s 73 active wildfires, 46 were started in the last two days.

The fire near Penticton is now burning across an area of 1.5 square kilometres, up 50 per cent from Friday night. Most of the growth was seen after the fire jumped east across Green Mountain Road, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Residents of 21 properties near Green Mountain Road were ordered to leave by the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS), with a further 25 on evacuation alert as of 11:30 a.m. Saturday. One structure was confirmed destroyed by the fire Saturday afternoon.

"It's a small non-residential structure that has been destroyed. Not able to confirm any further details right now," said Erick Thompson, communications coordinator with the RDOS, in a livestreamed emergency briefing.

"If you haven't yet, if you're under evacuation order or alert, you should register with our emergency support services."

Thompson said it was difficult to find rooms for evacuees, given the fire broke just before a long weekend.

"We understand that there is very little in the way right now of available accommodations in the Okanagan region for obvious reasons, very popular in the summer, very challenging to find a place," he said.

The cause of the fire hasn't yet been determined. It's currently burning 21 kilometres southwest of the town of Penticton, which is located 63 kilometres south of Kelowna.

Earlier Saturday, wildfire officials said the weather would continue to impact operations. A smoky skies bulletin has been issued for the region.

"We are going to continue to see hot and dry conditions throughout the next few days as this wildfire unfolds," said Aydan Coray, a fire information officer. "While the fuels have been dry, they will continue to dry out as we see [relative humidity] decrease even further, and the hot and dry weather continues." 

Coray said it is difficult to forecast where the fire will grow, and whether it will move toward Penticton, given how volatile the situation is.

"We are witnessing some pretty erratic fire behaviour due to shifting winds," said Kaitlin Baskerville, manager of the Kamloops Fire Centre. "We're now doing planning to anticipate growth that could go east, west, north, south given the erratic behaviour that we're witnessing."

The Keremeos Creek wildfire is the second "fire of note" in B.C., which means it is particularly visible or poses a threat to public safety.