Ellison Park Fire Contained

Written by Peter McIntyre Sunday, 14 July 2013 19:02

Update: 8:32pm

A wildfire at Ellison Park south of Vernon has been contained and all residents and campers at the campground are allowed to return.

Okanagan Landing Road has been reopened at Paddlewheel Park.

It had been shut down to keep vehicle traffic out of the fire zone.

Courtenay Pitcher from the City of Vernon says the rain in the area played a big part in dampening the blaze which reached two hectares.

No word on the damage.

250 people at the campground had to be evacuated and residents at the Outback Resort were on evacuation alert. The evacuated campers were asked to report to Marshall Field or the Rec Centre to make sure everyone was accounted for.

Kayla Pepper from the BC Forest Service says the cause is under investigation, but they suspect it was human caused because there hasn't been any lightning in the area.

It took several hours for the 30 members of Vernon Fire Rescue and 23 firefighters from the Forest Service to get containment on the blaze which started in the campground area Sunday afternoon.

Two air tankers with help from two helicopters were able to spread retardant around the fire area to help contain it.

The provincial park is located south of Vernon on Okanagan Lake.

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