UPDATE: 9:30pm

The BC Wildfire Service is reporting the Boltres Creek wildfire, which broke out around 1pm on Sunday, has now grown to over 100 hectares in size.

The latest update suggests the blaze was able to grow to 103 hectares in size through the course of Sunday afternoon.

The Highway 97 corridor does remain open, according to DriveBC.

As the fire was starting to gain momentum, traffic along the stretch did get tied up in both directions for a time.

BC Wildfire crews were actioning the fire through the day, including air drops and close to 20 ground personnel sent in to try to keep it in check.

It’s not clear what sparked the blaze, which began in or near a local garbage dump.

The BC Wildfire Service has said the fire was human caused.

ORIGINAL POST: (4:30pm)

A fast-moving wildfire is creating headaches for motorists trying to get from the North Okanagan into Kamloops.

A fire which broke out near the Vernon dump near 1pm has traffic tied up on the northern route toward the TransCanada from the Okanagan.

What was originally pegged as a “grass fire” by local media at around 1:30pm has since blown up into a 40-hectare blaze as of 3:30pm PST.

BC Wildfire says it’s using both air and ground crews to try to keep the fire in check.

However, it’s clear by the pictures provided by Radio NL staff that air teams are involved.

BC Wildfire is suggesting the fire is human caused, though there’s no indication of exactly what may have sparked the blaze.

No evacuation orders or alerts have been issued at this time.

The area itself is unpopulated.

BC Wildfire has now labelled the blaze the Boltres Creek wildfire.