Viewer photos of massive wildfire cloud near Keremeos, B.C. – Okanagan

“Whatever it is, it’s massive.”

That was one of the many comments Global News received on Tuesday evening when two wildfires merged near Keremeos, creating a massive smoke cloud that was visible 100 kilometres away in Kelowna.

The Crater Creek fire is located around 18 km southwest of Keremeos and has been burning since July 22. It’s currently estimated at 10,000 hectares.

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Calls for national wildfire fighting force

However, to underscore just how quickly this fire grew, on Tuesday morning, it was sized at 697 hectares, while the nearby Gillanders Creek fire was at 480 hectares.

The fire is burning in steep terrain, and evacuation alerts and orders were issued by the regional district on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Below are some of the dozens of photos submitted to Global News.

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Kalamoir park in West Kelowna deemed as one of the top regional park priorities for fuel mitigation work to reduce the threat of fire.

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