Fire
UPDATE: Wildfire burning southwest of Oliver
OLIVER - A wildfire southwest of Oliver has damaged two buildings but no homes or residents. The fire located 8 kilometres southwest of Oliver near Mount Kobau was called in at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and is 8.2 hectares in size as of Wednesday morning. The fire is 100 per cent contained. There are currently 14...
Red Bridge Pub in Keremeos up in flames
KEREMEOS - The 100-year-old Red Bridge Pub in Keremeos went up in flames this morning and firefighters continue to put out hot spots into the afternoon. All staff from the Keremeos Fire Department are on scene, plus one truck and five firefighters from Kaleden and Osoyoos. No other structures are endangered at this time but...
House fire wrecks wedding plans
ARMSTRONG - An Armstrong couple’s home, and the place they were going to get married, was severely damaged in a fire over the weekend. The Lockhart Drive homeowner and groom awoke just before 5 a.m. Sunday to flames ripping up the deck. Armstrong-Spallumcheen fire investigator Alastair Crick says seven people were in the house at...
Heat pushing wildfire risk to the extreme in Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON OKANAGAN - With temperatures in the Thompson-Okanagan boiling over into the mid-30s in the next week, fire officials are warning the public to be especially vigilant. The weather in the Kamloops Fire Centre, which covers Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton, is expected to remain hot and dry for the next 7-10 days, conditions which...
Ontario crews coming to support B.C. firefighters
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Specialized fire crews from Ontario will come to Kamloops on Sunday to support provincial crews during an elevated wildfire risk. "Because of this extended stretch of hot and dry weather, we're asking for additional assistance from Ontario,” Minister Steve Thomson said in a media release. The support workers will initially station in Kamloops....
Fire destroys Kin Race Track grandstands
VERNON - Fire knocked down the grandstands at Kin Race Track Wednesday night, drawing response from the Vernon Fire Department and police. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says an officer noticed the large cloud of smoke billowing from the fire around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. By that time, fire trucks were also on their way. The grandstands...
Kin Race Track fire considered suspicious
VERNON - Authorities are treating a fire at Kin Race Track as suspicious, just the latest in a long string of dozens of suspicious fires in the community. The Wednesday night blaze destroyed the grandstands overlooking the race track, leaving a charred and unstable structure too dangerous for investigators to enter. “We haven’t even been...
Discarded cigarette starts Kamloops grass fire
KAMLOOPS - You could see the thick black smoke for kilometres from a grass fire across Highway 5 from the Sun Rivers Golf Course in Kamloops Thursday afternoon. Fire captain Chris Burnham says the five person crew had the blaze near a home on Shuswap Road out in about 5 mintues. The fire started after...
Wildfire near White Lake Observatory reduced to brush fire
PENTICTON - A wildfire near White Lake Observatory in Okanagan Falls is nearly out after fire crews worked to put out the flames Monday evening. The fire started around 4:30 p.m. with unknown cause and grew to 20 hectares in size but was reduced to a brush fire by 7:30 p.m. Monday, when B.C. Wildfire...
Cause of Tolko mill fire likely accidental
KELOWNA – A fire that started at Tolko mill Monday evening was likely set accidentally by transients camping in the area. The fire was contained to a pile of sawdust and bark mulch between the mill and Manhattan St., an area Kelowna Fire Capt. Tim Light says is frequented by transients. “We found some home-made...
Car catches fire in busy parking lot
VERNON - A Vernon couple were in the hot seat this afternoon when the car they were depending on to get them home burst into flames. The middle-aged man and woman just finished having lunch and returned to their car parked in a lot across from Superstore on Anderson Way. The woman slid behind the...
Fire destroys old downtown buildings in Merritt
MERRITT - A fire that broke out Monday night in downtown Merritt destroyed two old buildings and left another block of buildings with smoke damage. Mayor Susan Roline says there were no significant injuries but the fire did displace several businesses and residents. She notes the ‘very old buildings’ did not have a firewall separating...
Government truck stolen from enclosed parking lot
KAMLOOPS – The B.C. Wildfire Branch believes a truck was stolen from an enclosed government parking lot in Clearwater on Canada Day. “It’s extremely unfortunate; we’re heading into fire season” Spokesperson for the branch, Kayla Pepper, said. The truck is a 2004 F-550 crew cab used for initial fire attacks. Fire suppression equipment, including personal...
UPDATE: Fire burning near Sicamous smaller than originally thought
KAMLOOPS - A fire burning in a cut block east of Shuswap Lake that is ‘quite visible’ from Sicamous was likely started by lightning last night and B.C. Wildfire crews expect more of these types of fires could pop up over the next week. “There was quite a bit last night and we’re forecasting lightning...
Lions Hall arsonist tells court to hurry up and sentence him
"IT'S RIDICULOUS. I PLED GUILTY." KELOWNA – The man who pleaded guilty to burning the Westbank Lions Hall last September has opted to represent himself in court in an apparent effort to speed sentencing. Kerry Robert Cooper, 30, appeared before a Justice of the Peace via video Thursday morning, saying he didn’t care what the...