UPDATE: 8:45 p.m. Official evacuation orders and alerts have been put in place at the August Lake wildfire near Princeton, while crews report they have made good progress so far and are expecting the fire's intensity to diminish overnight. The wildfire, burning to the south and east of Princeton on a plateau up Darcy Mountain Road, is now mapped at 14 hectares, up from 10 hectares a few hours ago. Princeton Fire Chief Rob Banks said BC Wildfire redirected resources fighting another fire in the area to the August Lake blaze. "They redirected all their air tankers and helicopter and beat the hell out of this," Banks said. "It's calmed down considerably." RDOS issues evacuation orders, alerts Meanwhile there are a number of evacuation orders and alerts in place from the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen due to the fire. Properties south of Highway 3, west to Amber Hill Road/Darcy Mountain road — adjacent of the sewer treatment plant — and east of Willies Ranch Road in Electoral Area “H” are under evacuation order. The order also applies to the Princeton Golf Club and properties on Taylor Mill Drive. Under the order, residents of these properties must leave immediately and report to the Princeton Emergency Support Services Reception Centre at the Princeton & District Arena at 167 Old Hedley Rd. in Princeton. Properties north of Highway 3 along the Similkameen River, south of Princeton Cemetery Road, east of Copper Mountain Road and west of Willie Ranch Road are under evacuation alert. Under an alert, residents must be ready to leave their premises, and will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to evacuation, however, there may be limited notice due to changing conditions. The RDOS issued the alert and order as of 7 p.m. Saturday, and its next update will be tomorrow, Sunday, July 13 at 10:30 a.m. unless the situation changes. The RDOS encourages all residents to sign up for Voyent Alert! notifications, which can be done online here. Voluntary evacuations Fire chief Banks said when the fire started, his department issued tactical evacuations for the homes closest to the fire, which numbered just two. One home vacated, but no one was home at the other. He said those two homes are being protected by firefighters now. Banks said a number of other homes in the area evacuated voluntarily, as did some people from the nearby Princeton Golf Club, which has an adjoining campsite. He said the nearby RockRidge Canyon summer camp, located south of the fire, initiated an evacuation plan in case they need to vacate. "They have about 300 kids there," Banks said. "They put them under an alert, just to make sure, because if the fire was going to go anywhere, it was going to go that way," Banks said. Fire behaviour decreasing BCWS information officer Cassidy Martin said the fire crews are still working on the fire, which is displaying rank two fire behaviour — a visible surface fire with a slow rate of spread and limited flame. "Crews have already started to see a downturn in fire behaviour just with the warm weather going away into the evening and the relative humidity is expected to increase, so overnight we are expecting a lot lower fire activity," Martin said. Two helicopters remain on scene bucketing water on the fire, she said. Martin said firefighting crews are prioritizing the northern flank of the fire, which is where homes are located to prevent the fire from moving any closer to structures. Banks said he considers the fire to be held now, although the BC Wildfire Service still lists it as out of control on its website. Martin said BCWS crews will remain on scene throughout the night. UPDATE: 5:35 p.m. Additional resources are on route to help tackle the August Lake Wildfire to the east of Princeton on Saturday. BC Wildfire Service Fire Information Officer Cassidy Martin said 14 of their firefighters, as well as four helicopters and five air tankers, are working on the blaze, along with the Princeton Fire Department. "The fire is displaying rank two to three behaviour, which is a moderately vigorous surface fire with a moderate, with a slower, moderate rate of spread," she said. "The afternoon into the early evening period is the hottest time, so it'll usually be the time that we see more elevated fire behaviour." Since the fire is closer to a community, some resources from a fire burning southwest in the backcountry have been redirected to assist in the August Lake battle. When the fire broke out this afternoon, RCMP and Princeton fire crews were conducting tactical evacuations in the area. The fire is remains estimated at 10 hectares in size and is suspected to be human-caused. UPDATE: 4:40 p.m. Six helicopters and six air tankers from the BC Wildfire Service are tackling the August Lake wildfire growing to the east of Princeton on Saturday. The aerial resources are being supported by two initial attack crews from BCWS, along with the Princeton Volunteer Fire Brigade, Tulameen and Keremeos crews. The fire is now estimated at 10 hectares in size and is suspected to be human-caused. UPDATE: 3:32 p.m. Tactical evacuations are underway Saturday afternoon due to the August Lake wildfire growing at the east of Princeton. Princeton Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Rob Banks said they are evacuating properties close by at this time. The forest fire is about two kilometres east of town in behind the golf course. "This is well up onto a mountain, and it has a good seat. So we're into rank three, four fire [behaviour]," Banks added. These behaviour ranks address that type of fire behaviour, which for three and four includes a more vigorous fire. Princeton is joined by BC Wildfire Service and RCMP. Banks said he is also calling in Tulameen and Keremeos to assist in the fight. Banks asks people to stay clear of the area at this time. Fire Information Officer Cassidy Martin said aerial resources from BC wildfire service are also responding. The fire is estimated at five hectares in size. ORIGINAL: 3:13 p.m. Multiple resources are tackling a wildfire growing east of Princeton on Saturday. The fire is growing behind the Princeton Golf Club on Willies Ranch Road. Mayor Spencer Coyne said the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, the Town of Princeton and BCWS are all involved and crews are on scene and on route. Watching the fire across the hill, Coyne said he could see two helicopters working on it. According to BC Wildfire Service, the wildfire is still spot sized, estimated at 0.009 hectares and remains out of control. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and details are limited at this point. Castanet will update this story as more information become available.