UPDATE:
The BC Wildfire Service is reporting that the blaze sparked on March 17, near Lumby, grew to 3 hectares in size and is now consider held and will not spread beyond predetermined boundaries under the current conditions.
The suspected cause of the fire is human activity.
There were no structures threatened in this incident.
This North Okanagan wildfire comes as B.C.’s current snowpack is tied for the second-lowest March 1 levels at 66 per cent — the lowest it’s been in more than 20 years.
An Environment Canada meteorologist told Black Press Media that B.C. could be trending away from El Niño conditions, which typically means warmer winter temperatures, but the province is still at a deficit when it comes to precipitation overall.
This would ring true for Okanagan residents who experienced temperatures 5 to 10 C warmer than normal over the weekend with daytime highs of 18 C.
On March 13, Alyssa Charbonneau, another meteorologist with Environment Canada said temperatures in the Okanagan and Shuswap from March 16 to 18, will feel “more like April or May” and that no precipitation is forecasted for the region until at least the middle of next week.
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A wildfire has sparked near Lumby.
The blaze was discovered just after 1 p.m. on March 17 and is located near Creighton Valley Road.
The fire is less than one hectare in size. The cause is under investigation.
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