Investigators have determined that the forest fire in Seclusion Bay began Monday when a tree fell on power lines during a windstorm with gusts up to 70 km/h.

An evacuation order remains in effect in the area as West Kelowna and Peachland emergency officials continue to assess the fire zone.

Firefighters remain at work battling the blaze that is still contained to about 30 hectares in size.

Warmer temperatures Wednesday were expected to result in possible flare-ups as the ground heats.

B.C. Hydro officials say the company is working to restore infrastructure and power. Key power poles in the rugged terrain have been damaged and must be replaced, they add.

FIRE UNDER CONTROL

On Tuesday, firefighters got an assist from cooler weather, light showers and calmer winds — but a state of emergency remained for the wildfire that forced 22 families out of their homes near Peachland on Monday.

About 45 firefighters from Peachland and West Kelowna fought the blaze — described as active but contained — with the support of two helicopters and about 30 firefighters from the Forests Ministry, said Bruce Smith, a co-ordinator with the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre.

The fire, which began Monday morning and grew from five to 30 hectares under high winds, destroyed a home, two garages, a police car and a boat, but no other property was threatened Tuesday. There are no estimates on the value of the losses yet.

Tuesday afternoon, officials decided to keep in place emergency and evacuation orders for the blaze — still estimated to cover about 30 hectares around Seclusion Bay on Okanagan Lake, just north of Peachland — and met with 67 evacuated residents, Smith said.

HEROES RESCUED RESIDENTS

Several Mounties from the area are being called heroes for evacuating residents on the slopes surrounding Okanagan Lake on Monday as the fire raged through dry grass and ponderosa pines.

One of the evacuees, an 85-year-old deaf woman, was found lying asleep amid thick smoke in her home and was carried to the shore down a steep slope by two officers as trees exploded in flame around them, the RCMP said.

The Emergency Operation Centre will evaluate the status of the evacuation order and emergency declaration on a day-to-day basis, Smith said.

While firefighters seemed to gain control of the blaze on Tuesday, officials were concerned about hotter weather forecast in the coming days, he said.

Highway 97 was opened with reduced speed through the fire zone Tuesday afternoon, after being closed for most of Monday.

scooper@theprovince.com