Fire burning near Shuswap Lake; no threats to homes

Three North Shuswap fire departments, along with a BC Wildfire crew and a helicopter, worked Thursday to extinguish a blaze in the Horseshoe Bay area near St. Ives, according to the Columbia Shuswap regional district.

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“The cause of the fire is unconfirmed,” according to a press release from the regional district. “The blaze is burning upslope in a heavily forested area and is not currently moving towards any structures.”

There is one home in the vicinity, the regional district said in a statement, and it is not currently being threatened by the blaze. Local firefighters with the Scotch Creek, Anglemont and Celista fire departments are monitoring the situation closely.

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It is likely the blaze will continue burning through the night and will continue to need action by firefighters in the coming days to fully extinguish the blaze.

Cool night temperatures and higher moisture levels in the evening will help to dampen the fire overnight.

The Shuswap Emergency Program will update information on its website, www.csrd.bc.ca and www.shuswapemergency.ca and social media platforms as needed. This will be the only update of the evening, unless the situation increases in severity.

Residents in the vicinity are encouraged to subscribe to Alertable, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s emergency notification system.