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Coquihalla
Chance of snow in Kamloops early this week
KAMLOOPS - A system moving through the Southern Interior coated mountain passes in heavy snow this weekend and it just might make its way into Kamloops this week. Between 14 and 17 centimetres of snow is being reported on the ground at passes in the southern part of the region this morning while only a...
Northbound Coquihalla closed near Inks Lake
KAMLOOPS - A truck pulling a travel trailer flipped on Highway 5 and is now blocking both northbound lanes near Inks Lake. Staff Sgt. Doug Aird with the rural RCMP says a truck pulling a trailer lost a front tire, causing the driver to lose control and the trailer to flip. It came to rest...
Province to review bus industry after two Coquihalla crashes
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Two major bus crashes in the last year resulted in serious injuries and now the provincial government is moving forward with a safety review on the motor coach industry. Minister of Transportation Todd Stone says the review will include examining safety statistics, analyzing vehicle inspections and vehicle licensing. It will also compare the...
UPDATE: Coquihalla partially reopens as crews fight wildfire near Othello
HOPE - A car fire just north of Hope on the Coquihalla Highway has spread to the neighbouring trees and partially shut down the highway. Drive B.C. is reporting that Highway 5 was closed in both directions from Highway 3 to Merritt because of a forest fire but that it has since partially reopened. As...
Highway to Logan Lake to be upgraded
LOGAN LAKE - Highway 97D is slated for upgrades this summer, the province announced today, June 30. Transportation Minister Todd Stone says the work is part of the 10-year transportation plan and will include more than 20 kilometres of repaving and the addition of wider paved shoulders from the Coquihalla Highway interchange to Logan Lake....
UPDATE: Crashes on Coquihalla just outside of Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - Emergency personnel are on scene after two separate vehicle incidents around 3:30 p.m., both near Inks Lake on the Coquihalla Highway just outside of Kamloops. A driver says she witnessed a vehicle flip and roll around four times approximately 13 kilometres outside of Kamloops. "The wind was so bad. Everyone was driving 120...
Crash on Coquihalla possibly due to winter conditions
KAMLOOPS - Fresh snow and slush, and ‘inadequate winter tires’, may have led to a crash near the Inks Lake brake check this morning that caused injuries to several people. The crash occurred around 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25, according to Rural RCMP Staff Sgt. Doug Aird. An older model Dodge van heading northbound...
Rural RCMP kept busy during snowy weather
KAMLOOPS – Within a short two-hour time period, Rural RCMP officers responded to five accidents caused by snowy conditions on Monday, Feb. 2. Just before 2 p.m. RCMP responded to a woman’s vehicle that came to rest on a power pole near Little Heffley Lake after her care fishtailed and landed in the ditch. The...
Driving mountain passes a challenge; heavy snow falling
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The meteorologists at Environment Canada are predicting a dump of snow on the mountain passes Saturday making the drive to and from the Thompson-Okanagan a challenge this weekend. A disturbance moving south from the northwest is responsible for the heavy snow, according to a special weather statement issued Saturday morning. The Okanagan Connector,...
Heavy snow expected on highway passes, avalanche risk high
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The avalanche risk is considered high throughout most of the region with large to very large human-triggered avalanches a main concern for forecasters over the next week. Avalanche Canada upgraded the risk to high from considerable in the treeline and alpine areas of the Kootenay Boundary and North and South Columbia regions late...
Snow to impact holiday travel this weekend
HEAVY SNOW FORECAST FOR COQUIHALLA THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you were planning to hit the highways this weekend to visit family and friends, or to head out of town to get your last minute shopping done, beware, Environment Canada is warning of a storm system moving over the Interior highways. Snow is already falling this morning...
UPDATE: Traffic closed on Coquihalla near Logan Lake turnoff
KAMLOOPS - A rolled over tractor-trailer has blocked one lane of traffic on the highway between Merritt and Kamloops. Kamloops Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Steve Kilmartin says the driver is okay, but a passenger has been transported to Royal Inland Hospital. The closure which took effect around 7 a.m. is five kilometres south of exit...
Freezing rain to hit the Coquihalla tonight
SNOW FORECAST FOR IN TOWN THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are hitting the highways tonight beware, Environment Canada is calling for a risk of freezing rain. There is a chance of snow on the Coquihalla from Merritt to Hope and Highway 3 from Princeton to Hope this afternoon and evening, but as a Pacific system moves...
UPDATE: SNOWED IN: Weather wreaks havoc on roads, power
SNOWFALL WARNING ISSUED FOR NORTH THOMPSON THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Heavy snow has fallen throughout the region and another 25 centimetres is expected in the North Thompson and Columbia regions by Thursday morning, though the snow will change to rain late tonight or Thursday morning in the more southern regions. While parts of the region struggle with...
Heavy snow continues on Coquihalla, 97C
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Mother Nature seems determined to let us know we are well on our way to winter with yet another round of heavy snow expected to hit area highways today. The system currently over the Interior will continue to drop heavy snow on mountain passes through tonight though the snow will start to mix...
Heavy snow to continue on highways
NEAR-RECORD HIGHS EXPECTED MID-WEEK THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are hitting the highways today, beware: Warnings of compact snow and slippery sections have been issued for many areas and more than 30 centimetres has fallen on several mountain passes over the past few days. Now another 15 cm is being forecast over the next 24 hours...
Heavy snow hitting the highways
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you plan to head out on the highways this weekend make sure you have your brain switched to winter driving. Several Interior highways are already covered with compact snow and slushy sections and another 20 centimetres of snow is expected by Saturday morning. A system heading over the Interior will bring heavy...
UPDATE: 3 people injured on Coq car crash; 2 critically
KAMLOOPS – A car crash on Highway 5 north of Merritt sent three people to hospital and slowed southbound traffic for a couple of hours Saturday afternoon. Two were transported by air ambulance to Royal Inland Hospital in critical condition, while the third person had non-life threatening injuries and was taken hospital in Kamloops by...
Snow accumulating on TransCanada
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you needed proof winter is coming, you need not look further than Rogers Pass, where the snow is beginning to stick around. Over the past day more than a centimetre has fallen in Albert Canyon between Glacier National Park and Mt. Revelstoke National Park, with even more falling at the higher elevations...
Get ready for the snow
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There have been small amounts of snow on mountain passes already this fall, but it hasn’t lasted long or accumulated enough for many people to really take note. Thursday morning Highway 97C saw warnings of slushy and slippery sections near the Pennask Summit and Environment Canada issued a special weather statement warning of...
UPDATE: Coq reopened after tour bus crash, 43 injured
MERRITT - A rollover has injured 43 people on board a tour bus and shut down the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope Thursday afternoon. Kelsie Carwithen of B.C. Ambulance Service says they got the call at 3 p.m. of an incident 30 kilometres south of Merritt involving a tour bus. They dispatched six air...
Crews continue to battle Murray Lake fire
KAMLOOPS - Crews continue to establish a guard around the perimeter of a 340 hectare fire just west of the Coquihalla Highway today, a week after the fire was first discovered. In total 70 crew members are on site south of Merritt, along with nine pieces of heavy equipment and five helicopters working to establish...
UPDATE: Aggressive Murray Lake fire partially contained
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An aggressive fire south of Merritt near Murray Lake is now 30 per cent contained, though an evacuation order for all properties adjacent to the lake remains. The Thompson Nicola Regional District issued the state of emergency and evacuation order around 9 p.m. Wednesday due to the potential threat. The evacuation order covers...
UPDATE: Aggressive fire near Coquihalla toll booth prompts evacuation alert
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An evacuation alert has been issued and B.C. Wildfire is keeping crews off of a fire three kilometres west of the old toll booth along the Coquihalla Highway because it's just too dangerous. “It’s displaying aggressive behaviour, a rank five. It has an organized flame front and is spreading quickly,” Fire Information Officer...