As Osoyoos residents return home, attention remains on weather and winds

Residents of Osoyoos, B.C., have been returning home following a harrowing fight with a border-crossing wildfire.

The Eagle Bluff wildfire was burning uphill, away from the community, Monday night and thanks to the effort of fire crews and favourable winds, the fire’s direction shifted.

Despite the positive update, most of the community remains under evacuation alert and must be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

The fire is still burning out of control.

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Eagle Bluff fire engulfs mountainside in Osoyoos, B.C.

“I can see going forward similar practices being applied depending on which way the wind is blowing, the activity that has increased there,” Shaelee Steams with the BC Wildfire Service said Monday. “Our crews will identify tactics and objectives they can achieve in that area as well as getting support from aerial resources to help minimize that fire activity that might see pick up due to winds.”

The cause of that fire remains under investigation.

So far, it has burned 1,450 hectares since jumping the U.S.-Canada border on Saturday.

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Fast moving wildfire forces hundreds to flee

Meanwhile, a wildfire burning near Invermere has grown on the south flank, prompting crews to reassess containment options as it has crossed the Yearling Drainage.

The BC Wildfire Service says the Yearling Creek wildfire is estimated to have burned more than 1,300 hectares.

The agency said planned ignitions along the southwest corner of the fire could happen on Tuesday if conditions are favourable.

There are still 359 wildfires burning in B.C. with 13 wildfires of note.

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