Wildfire burning near Kelowna airport prompts tactical evacuations

CBC News

· Posted: Jul 06, 2025 9:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

A wildfire burning conscionable northbound of Kelowna is prompting tactical evacuations, with crews battling flames near the city's airport.

The Ellison Fire Department, the Kelowna Fire Department and the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) are each astatine the country of the blaze, which started Sunday day successful the Ellison area, astir 9 kilometres northeast of central Kelowna.

The BCWS said the blaze is astir 2 hectares successful size and is presently classified arsenic retired of control. 

According to Kelowna RCMP, the blaze is burning uphill toward Postill Lake and different adjacent lakes with cabins and campsites. Officers are carrying retired tactical evacuations successful the Rockface Road, Upper Booth Road and Dead Pine Road areas.

"Residents are being asked to hole for a imaginable evacuation," the RCMP said successful a statement. "We cannot accent capable the value of staying retired of the area. Emergency services volition not let members of the wide nationalist into the evacuation zone."

The RCMP said entree successful the forested country is constricted and they are encouraging anyone adjacent the lakes to permission arsenic a precaution.

The occurrence is successful the Ellison Fire Department's jurisdiction, said Cali Nessman, a occurrence accusation serviceman with the Kamloops Fire Centre.

"BCWS is supporting with 3 archetypal onslaught crews, 2 effect officers, 2 helicopters doing bucketing, 4 aerial tankers, and a vertebrate canine aircraft," Nessman said.  

The Kelowna Fire Department is working to support the occurrence from advancing toward adjacent recreational areas.

The occurrence is suspected to beryllium human-caused, which the BCWS said could include some intentional and accidental ignition.

The wildfire work said it's inactive excessively aboriginal to foretell however the occurrence volition behave, but further updates are expected arsenic crews show the situation.