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Firefighters save bridge in Thomas Creek fire above Okanagan Falls

Crews have been making good progress setting up guard lines
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The Thomas Creek fire taken July 15. (Jake Evans Facebook)

Some good news from the front lines of the Thomas Creek fire.

The 6,558-hectare wildfire above OK Falls saw minimal growth Tuesday and fire crews were successful in defending a wooden bridge at the 17 kilometre mark on the 201 road.

The protection of life and property along the south flank will continue as the main priority today. Work on a contingency guard will continue to the north and west.

If those predicted winds arrive today it may result in elevated fire behaviour and additional fire growth, said BC Wildfire.

Yesterday, the fire was most active in the heavier timber to the north.

A contingency guard is now complete on the southeast flank.

Crews made good progress yesterday on reinforcing the south flank guard line above properties along the highway

This fire is being managed by a BC Wildfire Service incident management team as part of the Okanagan Complex. Aircraft and other resources may be reallocated from day to day within the complex as priorities shift.

The 704 properties put on evacuation alert will remain on that list.

BC Wildfire has updated its area restrictions around the Thomas Creek fire to allow its crews to work safely without the public being in those dangerous areas. Find the map here.

The boat launch in OK Falls remains closed and Penticton is advising all boaters to stay off Skaha Lake.

READ MORE: Minimal growth on Thomas Creek fire

READ MORE: Evacuation problems in Nk’Mip fire

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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