Lake Country fire crew knocks down early season grassfire

Published on February 8, 2023 by David Wylie

Lake Country deputy fire chief Brent Penner says a grassfire Wednesday in Lake Country is one of the earliest he’s seen.

A property owner had been open burning when the wind picked up and sparks flew.

“It landed in some dry grass, almost like sage brush,” Penner tells the Okanagan Journal by phone.

“The wind took it and pushed it an acre.”

The fire started around 1 p.m. and spread through an orchard and up a hill near Carrs Landing Road toward Lake Hill Drive.

Penner says the Lake Country Fire Department crew caught it at the of the ridge and knocked it down quickly.

“It was a flashy fire,” he says. “The snow’s just left, there’s a lot of dead brown crunchy vegetation on the ground.”

No buildings were damaged.

Ten members of the fire department responded with two engines, a water tender, a bush truck, a command vehicle. A forestry crew also assisted.