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Oliver firefighters join fight against White Rock Lake wildfire

Oliver fire chief says now it’s their turn to help those who came to their aid in Nk’Mip fire
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The Oliver fire crew who have gone to help battle the White Rock Lake wildfire in Vernon. (Oliver Fire)

A firefighting crew from the Oliver Fire Department has been deployed to help out with the White Rock Lake fire.

The crew left Sunday and will be offering their expertise.

“Our crew will be assisting with the White Rock Fire, this is via the provincial agreement with BC Forestry,” said Oliver fire chief Bob Graham. “Rest assured our town continues to be well defended by the remainder of the OFD crew and equipment. Other departments have been here helping us, now it is our turn to help someone else.”

Firefighters from Oliver have been battling the Nk’Mip wildfire in Oliver and Osoyoos for the past couple of weeks. They have been especially active in the Shrike Hills subdivision which has been one of the more challenging areas where fire behaviour has been unpredictable and aggressive.

The Oliver fire crew got stunning footage of that fire jumping its guard and getting dangerously close to firefighters before a helicopter dropped some water on it.

WATCH: Close call: Helicopter douses flames for Oliver firefighters fighting Nk’Mip blaze

The White Rock Lake fire has ballooned to over 55,000 hectares and forced hundreds from their homes as it moved into the Monte Lake area where buildings have been lost.

READ MORE: Vernon rescinds its evacuation alert for whole town

READ MORE: Fires like White Rock create their own weather patterns

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

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Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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