Small wildfire burns near Lillooet

Firefighters are dealing with a new wildfire sparked in Lillooet in B.C.'s southwestern Interior Wednesday afternoon.

Fire information officer Jeanne Rucker said the small fire, about four kilometres from Lillooet, is estimated to be half a hectare in size.

"At this point, [crews] are working the fire with the air tankers," she said. "They do have ground crews as well waiting to get in.

"It is windy in the area, [which] … is making it a little difficult for the air tankers, but they're certainly doing their best."

Rucker said it's too soon to say exactly how the fire started.

"We did have some lightning in the area [Wednesday], so we're certainly looking at that as one of the causes, but the investigators will be able to confirm that later on," she said.

Meanwhile, the B.C. Forest Service continued to battle three major fires in the area around West Kelowna, about 250 kilometres southeast of Lillooet.

Crews have managed to get two of the fires, in the Glenrosa and Rose Valley Dam areas of West Kelowna, 80 per cent contained, but the third blaze, at Terrace Mountain north of Kelowna, continued to grow Wednesday.

That fire is estimated to cover 20 square kilometres and is only 30 per cent contained.