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Crews gauge winds as wildfire continues to threaten Osoyoos, B.C.

Fire crews near Osoyoos, B.C. say they are carefully watching wind levels and direction as the Eagle Bluff wildfire continues to burn out of control just kilometres away from the town adjacent to the U.S. border.

About 700 properties in the area were evacuated Saturday evening as wind drove the flames of the approximately nine-square-kilometre blaze closer to town and another 2,000 homes remain under an alert for possible evacuation on short notice in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.

BC Wildfire Service Information Officer Shaelee Stearns says more windy weather is in the forecast today, and crews are keeping a close eye on the situation throughout the day.

The service says there were 352 active wildfires in British Columbia as of yesterday at 5 p.m., with 188 classified as out of control and 14 fires of note that are either highly visible or pose potential threats to public safety.

Meanwhile, a firefighter was killed before the weekend while fighting the massive Donnie Creek fire in northeastern British Columbia, the second such death this month in the province and the fourth in Canada during a record-breaking fire season.

Police say the contract firefighter from Ontario died after his heavy-duty ATV rolled over on a steep gravel road, just weeks after 19-year-old Devyn Gale was fatally struck by a falling tree near Revelstoke, B.C.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2021