Tense moments for Mission Hill winery, and residents of 50 nearby homes as a wildfire tore up the hill below the winery in West Kelowna Saturday.
Emergency officials performed a tactical evacuation of the winery and homes along Gala View Drive and Royal Gala Drive, as a small grass fire quickly grew to about 5 hectares in size.
About 40 firefighters from West Kelowna, Kelowna, Peachland, and the BC Wildfire Service were called in to battle the flames, just after 7:00 pm on Saturday. A water bomber and two spotter aircraft were also deployed from Penticton - but it was determined the water bomber wasn't needed.
West Kelowna Fire Rescue chief Jason Brolund says the fire was quiet overnight (Sunday) as fire crews continued suppression and mop-up activities.
BC Wildfire Service says the fire is now classified as "Being Held."
Brolund says a fire guard now surrounds the perimeter of the fire - and smoke and flame may be visible as 15 firefighters from West Kelowna Fire Rescue, and the BC Wildfire Service, work today (Sunday) to put out hot spots.
No structures were damaged and there were no injuries reported. There are NO evacuation orders or evacuation alerts in place.
Brolund says an investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing with fire investigators on scene. He says the focus will be in a couple of areas along the bottom of the hill - but there's no obvious spot yet where the fire may have started.