A hard-hitting aerial battle is taking place Friday in the skies above an aggressive new wildfire near Twin Lakes first discovered hours earlier.
From PentictonNow's vantage point on Westview Road, just a couple hundred meters from water's edge at Twin Lakes, we spotted two helicopters, five amphibious bombers/skimmers with Alberta markings, and three retardant-dropping air tankers simultaneously battling the blaze, now named the Upper Park Rill Creek wildfire.
According to BC Wildfire, there are also four Initial Attack Crews and three single resources responding.
Discovered Friday morning at 6:05 am, the fire exploded quickly even with the heavy firefighting presence. Not really a surprise -- the land to the southeast of Twin Lakes, where the fire is located, is extremely dry.
It is, yet again, suspected to be human caused, and considered as of midday to be out of control. The size, as of 12:05 pm, is estimated to be 100 hectares.
The RDOS has issued two sets of evacuation orders for nearby residents.
The first, coming at 9 am, included:
The second, coming at 10:45 am, was more sweeping:
There are also "State of Local Emergencies" for RDOS Areas "C" and "I."
For more information on this fire, its states of emergencies and evacuation statuses, turn here.
