Photo from Castanet (Louise Crooker)

A 10 plus hectare wildfire is burning near Keremeos.

The forestry service says: “The fire is burning in grass and sage and displaying aggressive surface fire behaviour. Resources on site include 22 firefighters, one bulldozer and one water truck.”

There are homes near the wildfire, but not imminently threatened. Crews on site are working with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen to assess the need for an evacuation alert for nearby residents.

Location: The fire is located near Highway 3A, off of Upper Bench Road (the hillside opposite the Grist Mill, and is burning along the top of the mountain).

Firefighters said they expected to be up there for most of the night.”

Swan says, “The fire danger rating remains high in the south Okanagan, so we ask the public to be vigilant and contact us at *5555 on your cellular phone or toll-free at 1-800-663-5555 to report a wildfire.’