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Wildfire
Wildfire risk a concern this weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - People are urged to be cautious with any open burning this weekend as we get set to experience warmer temperatures and a continued early drying trend. With temperatures set to hit the double digits every day over the next week, B.C. Wildfire warns there is an increased 'preventable' wildfire risk heading into the...
Open burn ban to be fully lifted
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Kamloops Fire Centre received calls of open burns in areas still under prohibition this long weekend, but staff are happy none led to wildfires. Fire Information Officer Kayla Pepper says a 13.7 hectare fire just north of Lytton this weekend is believed to be human-caused, but not a result of open burning....
UPDATE: Joe Rich forest fire contained
KELOWNA – Fire crews have a handle on the forest fire burning in Joe Rich since Sunday afternoon. The fire, in the 8000-block of Sun Valley Road off Highway 33 east, is 100 per cent surrounded by a hose lay, according to B.C. Wildfire Management’s Kelsey Winter. “The fire is 6.2 hectare in size… there...
Air tankers hitting wildfire in Joe Rich
KELOWNA – Fire crews are hitting a wildfire in the Joe Rich area of Kelowna hard Sunday afternoon. A report of smoke in the trees sent a Kelowna and Joe Rich fire crews to the 8000-block of Sun Valley Road off Highway 33 east. B.C. Wildfire Management fire information officer Kelsey Winter says doesn’t know...
UPDATE: Wildfire burning north of Princeton 90 per cent contained
PRINCETON - A wildfire north of Princeton is 90 per cent contained, as of Tuesday morning. The wildfire has grown to 182 hectares from the 110 ha estimated Monday morning. It is believed to be human caused, said Kayla Pepper, fire information officer with B.C. Wildfire. The fire was first reported Sunday at around 5...
Wildfire burning off Green Mountain Road 80 per cent contained
PENTICTON - The wildfire burning west of Penticton near Shingle Creek and Green Mountain Road is 80 per cent contained as of Tuesday morning. The fire is estimated to be 18.5 hectares in size and was quite visible when it began burning late Monday afternoon. There were five firefighters working overnight, and 26 firefighters are...
Crews work overnight to calm blaze between Oliver and Osoyoos
PENTICTON - A wildfire continues to burn between Osoyoos and Oliver in the Inkaneep and Mica Creek area. The fire is estimated to be 18 hectares in size as of Tuesday morning. It is burning Northeast of Osoyoos and Southeast of Oliver. No structures are threatened. There were 19 personnel on site Monday plus two...
Grass fire near Naramata fully contained
PENTICTON - A grass and open timbre fire burning north of Naramata on Naramata Road yesterday is now fully contained. The Naramata Fire Department is on scene and B.C. Wildfire has three personnel on site to help with mop up with another three-person crew to join later. A five-person Wildfire crew plus 10 fire fighters...
Shingle Creek fire in mop-up phase
PENTICTON - A fire burning 5 kilometres west of Skaha Lake near Shingle Creek is in the mop-up phase. The fire broke out Monday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. and is currently estimated to be 21 hectares in size. There are 20 firefighters on site today and 10 more on the way. Crews are working to...
UPDATE: Smoky skies advisory ends
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After more than a week under a smoky sky advisory, the smoke has finally cleared. There have been more than 1,100 wildfires this year and more than 252,000 hectares have burned. Six of those fires have been more than 10,000 ha in size with the largest reaching more than 88,000 ha. Smoke from...
Peachland’s Drought Hill fire now 100% contained
PEACHLAND – B.C. Wildfire crews along with the Peachland and West Kelowna fire departments are currently mopping up the scene of the Drought Hill fire, which has already burned for four days but is now 100 per cent contained. “It’s still 40 hectares in size. There will be 50 personnel on site today,” says Kelsey...
STAHN: The view from up here
You may think I’m wrong to admit this, but I am actually really excited about this fire season. I have been since murmurs of another active season began. The opportunity to see our guys and gals in action, putting themselves in harms way to save our homes, the air tankers and helicopters constantly buzzing above:...
Premier calls for fire safety as weather heats up wildfire risk
KELOWNA – It’s not just firefighters across the province worried about the latest heat wave creating the perfect conditions for more wildfires. Premier Christy Clark is asking every British Columbian to make a personal commitment to do everything they can to protect the forests and the province’s natural beauty. Temperatures have soared back into the...
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...
Botanie Creek wildfire evacuation alerts dropped
KAMLOOPS – The people living near the Botanie Creek wildfire north of Lytton are no longer under an evacuation alert. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has rescinded the alert for the 120 people who were evacuated because of the blaze and allowed to return home just last week. It has also been dropped for those properties...
House on Knox Mountain is a model for wildfire prevention
KELOWNA – The city would like to see more houses just like the one at the top of Knox Mountain. The house, which is in a potential wildfire zone, is surrounded by a gravel perimeter, the roof is covered in fire retardant shingles and all the vents have been covered with mesh. The land around...
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...
ARCHER: Shoutout to all the fire crews
Last week the Thompson-Okanagan was literally on fire, as I’m sure most of you know—it’s hard not to ignore large puffs of smoke coming from mountain tops, hazy skies that make it hard to breathe and endless news articles on fire updates and evacuation notices. Most of us watch these fires spread from a distance,...
Intense storm dropped record rain at rapid rate
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Several rainfall records were broken Wednesday but a local meteorologist says it is the rate of the rainfall that is the big story. “A record rain doesn’t really tell the story, the real story is the speed which it came out of the clouds,” Doug Lundquist of Environment Canada says. “You can have...
Evacuation alerts lifted for Apex and Jura mountain fires
PENTICTON - Evacuation alerts have been lifted for Apex and Jura mountain fires thanks to slow, steady rain falling in the South Okanagan and the hard work of wildfire crews. Evacuation alerts for the following homes have been cancelled as of Thursday morning, according to the RDOS: For the Apex fire: 146, 108, 22, 26,...
Murray Lake evacuation rescinded
KAMLOOPS - An evacuation notice for 35 properties at Murray Lake will be lifted at noon Thursday as the fire risk continues to decrease in the area. The 340 hectare Maka-Murray fire, south of Merritt and west of the Coquihalla Highway, is now 45 per cent contained and some heavy equipment has been pulled from...
Evacuation order lifted for Botanie Creek
LYTTON – An evacuation order for Botanie Creek Road north of Lytton has been lifted by the Thompson Nicola Regional District. The nearly 150 residents were staying in and around Lytton to evade a wildfire near the area. While an evacuation order has been rescinded, an evacuation alert remains in effect. Residents can return home,...
Campfire ban lifted in Clearwater area
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you want to have a fire while camping this weekend you may be fighting off the masses heading north to the Clearwater region thanks to the campfire ban being rescinded as of noon Wednesday for that fire zone. B.C. Wildfire is now allowing campfires in the area thanks to rain reducing the...
Crews slowly containing Murray Lake fire
KAMLOOPS - A 340 hectare fire burning south of Merritt just off the Coquihalla Highway is now 40 per cent contained and crews continue to build on the guards already in place. Crews continue to make progress on the fire, which was just 30 per cent contained Monday, and today more than 100 crew members...