Fire on Anarchist Mountain east of Osoyoos, B.C., triggers evacuation alert

OSOYOOS — The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has issued an evacuation alert for dozens of homes and properties that are being threatened by a fire on Anarchist Mountain east of Osoyoos, B.C.

OSOYOOS — The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has issued an evacuation alert for dozens of homes and properties that are being threatened by a fire on Anarchist Mountain east of Osoyoos, B.C. The alert says residents on Cougar Court and the Sasquatch Trail should be ready to leave as crews battle a blaze on the mountain. The Anarchist Mountain Fire Department says that as of 4 p.m. the fire was being held, but people are being told to avoid the area "to allow emergency personnel to work safely and efficiently."

The local firefighters are battling the blaze with the help of the BC Wildfire Service and the South Okanagan Task Force, and the cause is under investigation. The properties covered by the alert are near the Crowsnest Highway in the Regal Ridge area. Elsewhere in B.C., crews fighting out-of-control wildfires near Boston Bar, B.C., were taking advantage of favourable weather to attack the blazes directly, before fire activity was expected to pick up after tempered behaviour over the weekend.

The size of the Brunswick complex of wildfires, consisting of the Brunswick Creek and Ainslie Creek blazes, has changed little since last week with a combined size of more than 188 square kilometres, after a weekend of rain and cooler weather. The BC Wildfire Service said in an overnight update that crews would take advantage of the reduced fire activity to directly attack the fires and ensure the Highway 1 corridor through the area remained open. Crews were also working to protect structures near Boothroyd while establishing fire lines on the southwest flank of the Ainslie Creek blaze.

The fires have triggered evacuation orders and alerts for hundreds of properties and destroyed some structures in the Boston Bar area, while Highway 1 was closed last week in the Fraser Canyon community before reopening. An evacuation alert covering 61 properties near Merritt remains in effect, issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, while the Nooaitch Indian Band had also told residents of its main reserve to get ready to leave on short notice last week. Adam Hart, emergency program coordinator with the City of Merritt, said there's still a "large buffer area" between the city and perimeter of the Ainslie Creek blaze, but officials were monitoring the situation.

"We're keeping an eye on things," he said. "We wouldn't be paying attention if it weren't a concern, but you know, it's fire season." An air-quality warning for the region has been lifted, and though there's a bit of smoky haze, Hart said the city of about 7,000 residents has been "quite fortunate in that the smoke has mostly avoided our community up to this point."

Hart said Merritt has activated its emergency operations centre, but it's a "low-level activation" done out of what he called an "abundance of caution." A small number of evacuees have arrived in Merritt, and its airport was being used by helicopters as part of the effort to fight the fires, he said. The wildfire service has asked the public to avoid stopping or speeding on Highway 1 near Boston Bar and issued a reminder that operating a drone near a wildfire is prohibited, saying one of the devices had temporarily halted aerial firefighting operations at the Brunswick Creek blaze over the weekend.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2026. — By Darryl Greer in Vancouver The Canadian Press