UPDATE – 9pm, August 1st

Officials in Kamloops are now officially keeping tabs on the wildfire growing to the northwest of the city.

Kamloops Fire Rescue is in regular contact with BC Wildfire about the Watching Creek wildfire. At this point, the fire is NOT a threat to Kamloops. BC Wildfire is monitoring the fire and will notify the City if it becomes a threat. We will post updates if the situation changes. pic.twitter.com/FowDfVFteB

— City of Kamloops (@cityofkamloops) August 2, 2022

This comes on the heels of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District issuing an evacuation alert for those living in the vicinity of the “Watching Creek” wildfire.

An Evacuation Alert has been issued by the TNRD Emergency Operations Centre for a portion of Electoral Area "J" (Copper Desert Country) due to the Watching Creek wildfire.

Details: https://t.co/VUxg145ZIN #bcwildfires pic.twitter.com/yCMlf4nJAE

— TNRD (@TNRD) August 2, 2022

The fire, which initially started as a small, lightening-sparked blaze this past week, has grown significantly in size through Monday, drawing concerns online.

Smokey sunset looking north from #kamloops
Beauty and trepidation. pic.twitter.com/PzNOkVd1ac

— Christopher Ens (@ChristopherEns) August 2, 2022

5 hour progression of the Watching creek fire #Kamloops #BCWildfire pic.twitter.com/klye56h9gg

— Casey (@KCmacaulay) August 2, 2022

Fire season arrives above Kamloops. @BCGovFireInfo pic.twitter.com/O7DW2QzReQ

— Glenn Borthistle (@gborthis) August 2, 2022

A spokesperson for the BC Wildfire Service, as of 7pm on Monday evening, tells NL News they now estimate the “Watching Creek” fire at around 80-hectares in size.

This is a sizeable jump from the initial growth of just under 4-hectares which was first seen when the fire was originally reported on Friday, following a thunderstorm which rolled over the Kamloops area overnight on Thursday.

BC Wildfire also confirms there are currently no crews actioning the fire, as it became too dangerous for staff that were on the ground at the time.

Ground crews and aerial resources have been actioning the fire since it’s discovery on July 29. This afternoon, due to an increase in fire behaviour driven by winds and high temperatures, ground crews have been evacuated from the wildfire area.

— BC Wildfire Service (@BCGovFireInfo) August 1, 2022

BC Wildfire says air crews are monitoring the situation.

Ugh….need some rain again #yka #kamloops #bcfire pic.twitter.com/oUP8WyvFN8

— Jenn Dalen-Gordon (@Jenndalen) August 2, 2022

A large amount of smoke from the fire became much more evident Monday afternoon after winds in the region began picking up.

The “Watching Creek” fire is located about 15-kilometers away from Kamloops city limits.