Wildfire west of Princeton grows to 57 hectares, evacuation alert issued
Grasshopper Mountain blaze remains out of control; residents on Lawless Creek and Tulameen River roads ordered to prepare to evacuate.
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The Grasshopper Mountain wildfire, located west of Princeton near Tulameen, has grown to 57 hectares as of Wednesday morning and remains out of control.
The BC Wildfire Service is responding with heavy equipment, helicopters, and ground crews alongside the Tulameen and District Fire Department. The Regional District of the Okanagan Similkameen issued an evacuation alert for properties west of Tulameen on Lawless Creek Road and Tulameen River Road due to the fire's potential danger to life and health.
"This evacuation alert has been issued to prepare you to evacuate your premises or property should it be found necessary," the RDOS said. "Residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to evacuation; however, you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions."
The fire is suspected to be human-caused. The alert comes as the province grapples with multiple wildfires this season; earlier this week, the Kalamoir Park wildfire near West Kelowna and the Kullagh Creek wildfire between Kamloops and Merritt prompted evacuation orders and alerts affecting dozens of properties.