Kamloops

A look at your long weekend weather, dry lightning expected

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Make sure to keep a watchful eye under those sunshades this weekend; despite sunny forecasts, B.C. Wildfire is expecting dry lightning to hit the area. “We’re heading into a period now where we’re seeing the potential for more naturally occurring wildfires to pop up, but with lightning tracking in the region it’s common...

Senior crossing gets more attention

KAMLOOPS - Though there are more than 110 signatures of support for a full traffic signal at Mayfair Street and Tranquille Road staff still believe the current system is safer. In a petition submitted to council this week residents, volunteers and staff at the RiverBend Seniors Community on Mayfair Street are asking for advanced left...

B.C. Wildfire responds to grass fire near Tobiano

KAMLOOPS – Seven firefighters are on the scene of a small grass fire which broke out across the lake from Tobiano golf course Thursday afternoon. “It was growing pretty steadily,” said fire information officer Melissa Klassen “we responded by sending air tankers initially... a total of three aircraft laying retardant.” Klassen added a helicopter was...

Planning for your fire-free long weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you’re planning to go camping this long weekend, B.C. Wildfire says your fun will have to be fire-free unless you have an approved fire-safe stove.  “All of the (Thompson-Okanagan) locations fall under the same campfire ban,” says Kelsey Winter, a fire information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre. The only location without...

Pick your fruit before the bears do it for you

KAMLOOPS – The pungent smell of garbage isn't the only thing that might convince bears to wander into neighbourhoods during the hot summer months. Fruit left too long on trees is a delicious smelling attractant and something Wildsafe B.C. recommends we deal with sooner, rather than later.  Provincial Coordinator for Wildlife B.C. Frank Ritcey says fruit...

Downtown intersection set to reopen

KAMLOOPS - After a year delay and several months of construction the work connecting access to Riverside Park and the downtown core is nearly complete. Last summer a the city backed off the project because the cost was higher than anticipated and money wasn't available in the capital plan budget to cover it. When it finally resumed,...

Garbage fees going up

KAMLOOPS - If you bring a load of garbage to the landfill you will be looking at higher fees but it should have little impact on the average homeowner who has garbage picked up curb side. Public Works Director Jen Fretz said the hope is increased fees will help divert waste, but it is also...

Labour council president running for city council

KAMLOOPS - The current president of the Kamloops and District Labour Council is the latest to announce his intention to run in the upcoming municipal election. Peter Kerek has been the president of the council since 2011 and earlier this week he used social media to announce his intention to run. The Kamloops Transit employee...

Council goes against staff on casino move

KAMLOOPS - The public will get to voice input on the proposed move of the downtown casino to the former Rona location in Aberdeen after a staff recommendation to deny the application was overturned by council Tuesday. “We need the opportunity to hear from the community, and casino people,” Coun. Tina Lange said. “(We have)...

Overlanders Bridge update moving forward

KAMLOOPS - The city is moving forward on the $9.3 million in repairs needed for the Overlanders Bridge deck and sidewalk, work set to take place in 2015. Originally the project was set to fix the bridge deck at an estimated cost of $6.12 million but early this year staff asked councillors to hold off...

Staff against moving downtown casino to Aberdeen

KAMLOOPS - Relocating the Lake City Casino out of downtown will potentially weaken the core area and require ‘significant’ improvements to traffic and transportation in the Aberdeen and Pineview areas. “The loss of the casino in the City Centre may have an impact on downtown's social and economic fabric,” Development Director Marvin Kwiatkowski said in...

Westsyde Road rehab to be complete by fall

KAMLOOPS - Westsyde Road will get a lot of new asphalt this summer and it will be done with a lower price tag than originally thought as well. The road will see more than 70,000 square metres of concrete surface milled and paved, as well as drainage improvements and replacement of all sanitary, storm, water...

Fake gun triggers RCMP response downtown

KAMLOOPS – There was swift action downtown this morning after RCMP received a call that a man was walking near Interior Savings Centre with a sawed-off shotgun. The report came in just before 10 a.m. and soon after officers discovered the man with two others behind the building located near the corner of 3 Avenue...

VIDEO: Smith Creek fire from above and by the numbers

KELOWNA - Take a guess: How much water have fire crews dropped on the Smith Creek fire over the past week and a half? Would you believe more than 1.2 million litres? As of Monday morning helicopters had flown more than 100 hours, skimmers had dropped more than 300 loads of water and foam and...

Meteor shower to peak early next week

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Grab a date, a blanket and a bottle of wine and prepare to spend a night gazing up at the sky during the peak of a month-long meteor shower early next week. The Delta Aquarids meteor shower runs annually from July 12 to Aug. 23 and this year the peak will occur in...

UPDATE: Power restored after storm cut off thousands of residents

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Power has been restored to most customers in the Thompson-Okanagan following widespread outages affecting over 16,000 customers at their peak. Sabrina Locicero with B.C. Hydro says power in the Thompson-Okanagan and Shuswap regions is back on for the vast majority of customers. Only ten customers remained without power as of Friday morning. B.C. Hydro...

West Highlands Park about a year behind, still on budget

KAMLOOPS - The retaining wall is in and the fencing nearly complete and now crews are ready to work on the actual soccer field portion of the new Aberdeen park. City Project Supervisor Nick DeCicco says if everything goes smoothly then the soccer fields could be complete with turf and irrigation by the fall, which...

Crews reach 50% containment on Lytton fire

KAMLOOPS - Hydro has been restored, people are allowed to return home and crews are now able to work on hot spots in the interior of the 1,389 hectare Botanie Creek fire, which as of Thursday afternoon sits at 50 per cent contained. “The wet weather is a good thing all around,” Fire Information Officer...

Mother Nature bringing the heat

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - This week brought stormy skies but next week will once again bring the heat as temperatures are set to soar into the mid-30s. “The good news is it’s over,” Environment Canada Meteorologist Doug Lundquist says of the heavy rains and thunderstorms that passed through this week. “And then the ridge builds next week...

Snow greets Ironman Triathletes in Whistler

WHISTLER - Residents and tourists woke to snow in Whistler Thursday morning after a cool, wet system moved through overnight. The snow came just in time for the Ironman Triathlon, which kicks off this weekend, though it will likely be gone before the athletes compete on Sunday. More rain and cool temperatures are expected through...

Kamloopa Pow Wow expected to draw 20,000 people

KAMLOOPS - The largest pow wow in the west is just over a week away and organizers are busy preparing for the nearly 20,000 people expected to attend the event. The Kamloopa Pow Wow is set for Aug. 1-3 and will feature about 600 dancers, about a dozen drumming groups and a variety of Aboriginal...

City focuses on flood cleanup, tallying property damage

KAMLOOPS – While the flooding may have stopped, the City of Kamloops now has cleanup to worry about after buckets of rain scattered debris and poured through several buildings around town – including City Hall. “I don’t know the extent of (the damage),” City of Kamloops Manager Mike Firlotte says about the flooding at the...