Out of control wildfire near Peachland continues to grow

Firefighters are on the scene of a wildfire that the B.C. Wildfire Service is reporting as out-of-control.

The BC Wildfire Service says it’s located west of Peachland about 4.5 km away from the community and a photo showed it burning in trees between two hills.

Air tankers, helicopters, a skimmer group, along with initial attack and ground crews were all dispatched to the area.

“The Spring Lake wildfire (K50842) is displaying rank 2-3 behaviour, meaning the fire has an open flame and moderate rate of spread. No values are threatened at this time,” the BCWS said on Wednesday evening.

As of noon on Thursday, the fire was estimated at 2.6 hectares in size and is thought to be human caused.

Meantime, the number of active wildfires in B.C. is ticking up as hot, sunny weather persists in much of the central and southern Interior, while a cold front carrying the risk of thunderstorms and dry lightning is expected across the north today.

There are about 150 blazes with 48 new ones since Wednesday.

A province-wide campfire ban is set to take effect Friday at noon, except for Haida Gwaii.