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Wildfire
Fire closes Mt. Boucherie Park
KELOWNA - An interface fire Tuesday afternoon has prompted closure of Mt. Boucherie Park until fire crews finish putting out hot spots and the district can assess the risk. The fire began around 3 p.m. Tuesday and quickly grew to just over four hectares. West Kelowna fire crews were aided by B.C. Wildfire air tankers...
Fires becoming more aggressive
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There have been more than 25 wildfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre in the past two days but most of the smoke in the air is coming from the more than 36,000 hectares burning in northern B.C. Just yesterday crews battled fires at Apex Mountain in Penticton, Mt. Boucherie in West Kelowna and...
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...
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...
Thefts and fires in Osoyoos can be easily avoided
OSOYOOS - RCMP say the biggest problems in Osoyoos are ones that can be avoided with a little extra care. There have been numerous thefts from unlocked vehicles and sheds, and unlocked vehicles with keys left inside. Two dirt bikes and a motorcycle were stolen from a locked, detached garage in the Spruce Court area...
Campfire bans begin Wednesday
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. Wildfire is issuing a campfire ban beginning Wednesday, July 16 following a perfect storm of hot, dry and stormy weather. The ban, which begins at noon Wednesday, covers the entire fire centre and is in place until further notice. The majority of the fire centre is sitting at a high to extreme...
Sugar Lake wildfire triples in size
VERNON - A wildfire that was an estimated 33 hectares in size over the weekend tripled overnight. Fire information officer Melissa Klassen says the lightning-caused fire raging just north of Sugar Lake is now burning 107 hectares of timber. While the fire grew Sunday night, Klassen says the latest figure is the most accurate because...
Hazy sky likely from northern fires
KAMLOOPS - It could just be a haze in the sky today but it is more likely smoke from more northern fires we are continuing to see fill our valley. B.C. Wildfire information officer Melissa Klassen says the smoke in the air could be attributed to the more than 15,000 hectares of fires north of...
UPDATE: Forest fire near Sugar Lake growing
LUMBY – A forest fire is burning just north of Sugar Lake has grown from 4 to 33 hectares but isn’t a threat to any communities or structures. Fire information officer Melissa Klassen says the blaze north west of Lumby is burning in heavy spruce. Two tanker groups from the air base in Kamloops dropped...
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...
Smoke in sky from fires in northern B.C.
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Several large fires in the northeastern part of the province are causing a haze across much of the Southern Interior today. B.C. Wildfire Provincial Fire Information Officer Erin Catherall says most of what we can see is likely from the Prince George Fire Zone where two large fires and several smaller ones are...
Wildfire burning near Spotted Lake
OSOYOOS - An interface fire that started Wednesday afternoon, continued to spread aggressivley overnight along Old Richter Pass Road near Osoyoos. As of 8:30 a.m. the fire, just south of Spotted Lake and west of Osoyoos, was estimated at 15 hectares and was yet to be fully contained. The fire is "wrapped in hose" and...
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...
Stubborn wildfire near Oyama
LAKE COUNTRY – Lake Country firefighters found themselves back at the scene of a small wildfire in the hills above Oyama dealing with hot spots Sunday morning. The 0.5-hectare brush fire near Oyama Zipline on Oyama Lake Road was reported around 6 p.m. Saturday. Fire Information Officer Kayla Pepper says a 3-person initial attack crew was...
Wildfire season expected to heat up
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With just 13 wildfires reported in May it was a ‘pretty average’ spring month for B.C. Wildfire but the amount of rain that falls over the next month will play a big part in whether predictions of a heavy fire year are correct. Melissa Klassen with the Kamloops Fire Centre says of the...
Appeal rejected, fine stands for CNR
KAMLOOPS - The province was claiming more than $340,000 in mature timber was lost in a blaze sparked by a train near Ashcroft in 2005, but a panel of judges disagreed last week, instead handing down a fine of only $11,000 and a bill for $6,252 in lost timber value. In July 2005 a Canadian...