The Keremeos Creek Wildfire has grown to over 6,800 hectares according to the latest estimate from the BC Wildfire Service.
Firefighters have been conducting multiple planned ignitions over the last few days, with more planned along the Olalla Creek Forest Service Road for Tuesday.
Heavy equipment is currently working on building up contingency lines from Apex Mountain to south Keremeos Creek.
Overnight conditions were favourable and firefighters were able to contain hotspots, and any burning debris that continued to fall were promptly dealt with.
Highway 3A continues to remain closed and no time for reopening has been announced. Mop-up work is continuing along the corridor with the goal of reopening safely.
READ MORE: BC Wildfire asks for patience as evacuation orders drag on for Keremeos Creek wildfire
Crews will be working on further direct attacks and planned ignition operations to encircle the fire along the western and northern flanks on Tuesday.
Key work areas include Olalla FSR, Green Mountain Road to the north, Keremeos Creek FSR, Winter Creek, the Apex Mountain Resort area, Cedar Creek and Dividend Mountain.
The objective for Tuesday’s work is to reduce impacts to the public, including completing mop-up operations to speed up residents being able to return safely to their homes.
Over 540 properties remain on evacuation order, including the communities at Apex Mountain and Olalla.
Currently, there are 256 wildland firefighters and an additional 157 structural protection personnel from fire departments across B.C. for a complement of 413 firefighters on the fire.
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