When the forest fire broke out on Christie Mountain in late summer, it spread to over 1,000 acres in a single day on August 18, 2020.
It resulted in an evacuation warrant for 319 homes in the Heritage Hills area and over 3,600 homes placed on alert.
At one point the entire city of Penticton, including the hospital, was put on evacuation alert.
Now the wildfire on Thomas Creek east of Okanagan Falls has raised a cloud of smoke that is visible from above and below in the valley.
The two fires are close to each other, but they are also far apart.
Unlike Thomas Creek, which is currently burning out of control one mile east of Skaha Lake and above the town of OK Falls, the fire at Christie Mountain began about four miles north of Okanagan Falls, but on the same east side of Skaha Lake, closer to it the Heritage Hills and East Street.
With the Thomas Creek Fire, the RDOS Emergency Operation once again urges people to stay away from the Heritage Hills area and Skaha Lake Road to Eastside Road.
The fire in Thomas Creek began at around 2pm on Sunday, July 11th and had grown from 0.50 hectares to 500 hectares by dusk.
On Wednesday, July 14th, it was over 1,500 hectares.
COVID-19 made fighting the fire at Christie Mountain even more difficult as over 200 firefighters from 50 departments and the BC Wildfire Service attacked the fire. At its peak, the fire spread to more than 2,000 acres of land.
By August 31, the fire brigades had managed to contain the fire in Christie Mountain on over 2,000 hectares and no longer viewed it as a threat. One house was lost, but many others were saved through the quick and hard work of BC Wildfire and the local fire fighters.
In both fires, they attacked it by land and air, used water, fire retardants, and built containment lines.
On September 11, 2020, BC Wildfire removed the Christie Mountain fire from its list of notable fires.
READ MORE: Over 3,000 Homes On Alert Due To The Mount Christie Fire
Just like the fire at Christie Mountain, the Thomas Creek fire is clearly visible from Highway 97 and Skaha Lake.
So far, no homes have been burned by the Thomas Creek fire and the fire has been moving away from homes since Sunday evening.
The lessons of the Christie Mountain fire have been summarized in a single report.
Some of the improvement suggestions are already being used on the Thomas Creek fire, including coordinating with the City of Penticton to deploy their emergency evacuation center and ambulance volunteers.
Suggestions for improvement included the establishment of a joint emergency response center between the City of Penticton and the RDOS, which was implemented.
During the Christie Mountain fire, liaison officers, particularly those needed to coordinate with BC Wildfire, were absent and lacked procedural and training standards. More trained, cross-agency links are needed, the report said.
There were times when the number of authorities involved in the situation made communication difficult.
It was two weeks before the forest fire held at Christie Mountain. On July 14, 2021, the fire at Thomas Creek lasted for four days and is still considered volatile as the ground crews work through an extreme heat wave.
READ MORE: Lessons From The Fire Of Christie Mount
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BC forest fires 2021
