Cinnabar Creek wildfire near Kelowna prompts evacuation alert

A wildfire on the west side of Okanagan Lake near Kelowna, B.C., has prompted an evacuation alert.

The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre has been activated to respond to the 2.8-hectare fire at Cinnabar Creek, about 15 kilometres northwest of Kelowna.

The evacuation alert affects Camp Owaissi, Lake Okanagan Resort and Camp Mewata. Road closures were in place Wednesday evening on Westside Road south of the resort and south of Dennison Road.

Boaters are being advised to stay away from the area while aircraft pull water from the lake to douse the flames.

Lisa Kutzner one of many guests on evacuation alert at Lake Okanagan Resort says the fire looks really close.

"Just lots of smoke — the smoke's almost got an orange tinge to it," Kutzner said, adding there were lots of plane flying nearby.

The staff have told all the resort's guests to be ready to leave at a moment's notice in case the fire gets any closer.

"Never had this kind of situation, so it's kind of strange. Feels a bit surreal, so we'll just wait and see what happens," she said.