Smoke from Ross Moore Lake fire to loom over Kamloops this week

A wildfire near Kamloops sent a column of smoke hurdling over the city last night, but the BC Wildfire Service says the growth isn't threatening the city or the nearby highway.

Winds increased the intensity of the Ross Moore Lake wildfire Sunday night, July 30, burning slash piles within the fire perimeter, wildfire information officer Forrest Tower said.

"On the western and northern flanks, it's burning in some pretty dense fuels that it hadn't previously picked up in," he said. "So the smoke column yesterday was actually from one cut block that had a bunch of piles in it and it was just a huge inferno of piled wood."

The wildfire is estimated at 2,721 hectares, about 10 kilometres from the city's southern limits. It grew quickly within days after it was discovered on July 21, but its spread has been slow since last week.

Overnight winds pushed the blaze to the west, where it did push past some of the guards closest to its perimeter, Tower said. Wildfire crews have heavy equipment on site and continue to build guards on the west and northwest flanks of the blaze.

Tower said there are also skimmers and helicopters dropping water on hot spots in the area.

There are 125 crew members on the wildfire, with 34 pieces of heavy equipment and eight helicopters splitting their work between Ross Moore and two blazes near Adams Lake.

While Tower said growth has been slow, residents in the area should expect to see continued smoke over the area in the coming days as winds continue to push it toward the Thompson Valley. He added, however, the fire would have a "long way to go" before it's a threat to Kamloops.

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