Small fire at homeless camp quickly extinguished in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS – A fire at a homeless camp underneath the railway in Valleyview was quickly extinguished this afternoon.

RCMP originally spotted black smoke coming from a small tunnel underneath tracks near the intersection of Highway 1 and Oriole Road around 1:30 p.m. today, Feb. 5.

Kamloops Fire Rescue Platoon Capt. Troy Grant says the fire was relatively small when they arrived.

“Firefighters extinguished the fire from outside the tunnel,” Grant says. “They then investigated to see if anyone was inside.”

The tunnel had been used as a camp for at least one homeless person, he says. Inside was a variety of gear including bikes and a shopping cart.

“They found a Coleman stove had been left running,” Grant says.

Some debris had caught fire and filled the tunnel with black smoke. Debris, bikes and bike parts were still in and around the tunnel this afternoon.

Canadian Pacific Railway investigated for damage to the track, but have not yet said whether they found any.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brendan Kergin at bkergin@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.