Officials with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen added 164 additional properties to the list, including one belonging to Betty and Kent Drover, who spoke to CTV News as they loaded important belongings into their vehicles.
Many of the newly evacuated homes are built into hillsides on steep rugged terrain, making firefighting efforts in the area dangerous and challenging.“The evacuation for electoral area A has been expanded due to the immediate danger to life safety,” said communications coordinator Erick Thompson. "If things get bad, and you are in immediate danger, someone will knock on the door. And it will likely be RCMP, possibly assisted by search and rescue or the local fire department.
"We're seeing a trend over the past few days which is expected to continue for about the next five days where the wind tends to pick up at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon which is often the hottest part of the day,” said Fire Information Officer Dani McIntosh.