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Updated: God’s Mountain fire under control

Wildfire B.C. says a blaze near Penticton was human-caused
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Firefighters were callled to a wildfire burning above Skaha Lake late last night. Photo courtesy Skylar Noe Vack

A blaze burning on the hillside above Skaha Lake about 10 kilometres south of Penticton is under control, with firefighters from the B.C. Wildfire service working to clean it up.

Penticton firefighters were called to the fire at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday night when the fire was spotted burning near God’s Mountain, above Eastside Road. Local crews were joined by seven firefighters from B.C. Wildfire as they worked to contain the fire.

Emergency Social Services was also on scene to help with evacuation effort. Penticton fire chief Larry Watkinson said a guest and 11 staff members were evacuated from the God’s Mountain B&B.

According to B.C. Wildfire spokesperson Justine Hunter, there are residences within one kilometre of the fire, but they are not considered to be threatened at this time. The fire has been measured at 0.63 hectares in size, and is considered “held,” meaning it is not expected to grow beyond a predetermined size.

The fire is considered to be human-caused, but Hunse said the exact cause is not available yet. The fire danger rating is currently considered high throughout most of the Okanagan.