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South Okanagan fire crews battle two blazes one-after-another

The two fires were likely caused by discarded cigarettes according to the fire department
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Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department, photo from Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page The Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department. (Facebook)

Two fires in Okanagan Falls sprouted up, Tuesday, along a roadside due to potentially discarded cigarettes.

The first blaze was on Green Lake Road and the second was on Highway 97 and Oliver Ranch Road near the south end of the Vaseaux Lake Bird Observatory.

Most of the Okanagan Falls Fire Department was on the scene of the first fire when the second call came in according to a spokesperson for the department.

READ MORE: Osoyoos wildfire believed to be human-caused

“When the second call came in we sent one truck down, there were some citizens on the scene putting it out themselves,” he said.

The cause of both fires is undetermined, with the points of origin besides the roadway.

“Discarded cigarettes are usually the number one cause, and occasionally we’ll get cars backfiring but it’s usually drier for that,” said the spokesperson. “Usually it doesn’t take a while for people who are in the habit of tossing their cigarettes out the window to get used to putting them out in their ashtray. They haven’t done that transition from winter-mode to summer-mode.”

“We had a pretty good breeze from the north, and with a discarded cigarette those go hand-in-hand, that’s what helps fuel that fire.”

READ MORE: Fire rips through shop in small South Okanagan town

Earlier during the day, the department also was called out to deal with a non-permitted burn.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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