British Columbia

Bear Creek Provincial Park campground evacuated due to wildfire risk

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Central Okanagan Emergency Operations also moves people out of nearby West Kelowna homes

This screen grab from a YouTube video appears to show a wildfire burning near Bear Creek Provincial Park in West Kelowna on Sunday, August 21, 2016. (triple7baby/YouTube)

Central Okanagan Emergency Operations says it has evacuated the Bear Creek Provincial Park campground because of a wildfire that appears to be steadily growing along Westside Road in West Kelowna.

Some surrounding homes in Traders Cove have also been evacuated due to the threat, but Travis Whiting, who is the liaison officer with EOC, says it is unclear how many.

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A reception centre was opened for evacuees at the Lion's Centre on 2466 Main St. in West Kelowna.

Meanwhile Westside Road is closed between Bear Creek Road and Lake Okanagan Resort said EOC in another tweet.

The B.C. Wildfire Service has sent a crew of nine firefighters to assess and try and contain the blaze.

Meanwhile residents on social media describe the fire as growing quickly, while others posted images of what appeared to be another similar blaze in Okanagan Falls and BC Hydro says stormy weather in the Interior caused outages to 12,000 customers.