The BC Wildfire Service says a wildfire near Lytton has grown to 60 hectares and an evacuation alert is now in place.

The fire broke out late Wednesday afternoon south of Lytton and the Skuppah Indian Band. It is now listed as a “fire of note” by the service.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has put 10 properties on evacuation alert as a result of the fire, with the Skuppah band. Those include six properties on George Road and four on the Trans-Canada Highway.

At this point, the fire is suspected to be human-caused. It is visible from nearby communities and the Trans-Canada Highway. Smoke from that fire has also blown into Kamloops and the surrounding area this morning.

The wildfire service responded to the blaze yesterday with 16 personnel and a helicopter, and it said there was no risk to any structure.

As of this morning, the fire danger rating in the Kamloops area is low to moderate in most of the region, with pockets where there is a high fire risk and isolated spots where the risk is extreme.

The fire risk is expected to rise further in the coming days, with hot and dry weather in the forecast for most of the next week.

(Note: The photo in this story was shared by the BC Wildfire Service when the blaze was estimated at 2.1 hectares in size)