One lane of traffic remains on Highway 97 near Peachland fire scene – Peachland News

Photo: Ted Duck

Wednesday morning along Highway 97 south of Peachland.

UPDATE: 15:20

Motorists are experiencing significant delays along Interstate 97 south of Peachland as the highway remains open to one-lane, alternating traffic due to the fire burning near the road.

The freeway was completely closed for several hours Wednesday after the fire broke out near Interstate 97 at Brent Road around 9 a.m. – lane, alternating traffic in the afternoon.

A driver traveling south through the area Thursday afternoon tells Castanet he waited about an hour to get to the scene of the fire.

He says northbound traffic was backed up to about Okanagan Lake Campground, while southbound traffic was backed up to Princeton Avenue in Peachland.

ORIGINAL: 8:55 am

Interstate 97 near Brent Road south of Peachland is expected to remain open but will be reduced to one lane of alternate traffic for most of the day.

In an email, AIM Roads indicates, “it is expected to remain with a single alternate lane for most of the day. Next update July 18, 2024 at 5 pm”

Freeway traffic was disrupted by a fire that broke out near Brent Road along Interstate 97 Wednesday morning.

The BC Wildfire battled the blaze for much of Wednesday, pounding it from the air using three initial attack crews, planes, skimmers and a helicopter.

The fire, which has grown to six hectares, is believed to be human-caused and was believed to have started on Wednesday evening.

The BC Wildfire Service was in cleanup mode and did not leave any ground personnel on the fire overnight.