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Fire

Arrest made in Vernon pet store arson

VERNON - Police have charged a local man with arson in connection to a small fire outside AJ’s Pets & Things earlier this month. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says surveillance footage released by the store showed a man appearing to start the Sept. 6 fire. Police appealed to the public for help locating and identifying...

Multiple residents displaced after Vernon pot lab explodes

VERNON - Several residents of a Vernon apartment complex were forced out of their homes when a neighbouring unit exploded and now, nearly a month later, they still can’t return home, according to one displaced tenant. Resident James Halpert, who gave only his first and middle name, has lived in his Regency Gardens apartment on...

Dropping wildfire threat reopens part of Knox Mountain Drive

KELOWNA – Although the majority of Knox Mountain Drive will remain closed due to the risk of wildfire, the road will be reopened to vehicles as far as the first lookout tomorrow. The Friday, Sept. 4 opening comes after the road was closed in July due to the high risk of fire. Urban Forest Technician...

Communities on edge: Thompson-Okanagan fire officials field calls for false alarms

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fire appears to be at the forefront of many peoples’ minds across the Thompson-Okanagan. With wildfires burning across the province and a blanket of smoke from Washington hanging in the air, fire officials say they are receiving a number of reports which are in fact nothing more than false alarms. In the North...

Senior woman dies in fire at Kamloops retirement home

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops woman has died from her injuries after her room caught fire in a downtown senior’s complex yesterday, Aug. 24. Platoon Capt. Troy Grant says Kamloops Fire Rescue and paramedics responded to the call at Glenfair Complex on Glenfair Drive around 10:20 p.m. and determined the woman fell asleep in her chair...

B.C. crews begin work on Washington wildfire

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. Wildfire firefighters have begun work on a Washington-based wildfire inching its way toward the Canadian border. With five kilometres left before reaching Canada, B.C. crews have been deployed to suppress the Stickpin Fire which is now estimated to be 19,240 hectares in size. Plans so far are for crews to assess the...

Police investigating apartment fire that left two Vernon men with severe burns

VERNON - A pair of Vernon men were airlifted to Vancouver last week after suffering serious burns in an apartment fire. The two men, ages 20 and 21, were inside an apartment building in the 3400 block of Okanagan Avenue when a fire started in the bathroom. Deputy Vernon Fire Chief Jack Blair says they...

UPDATE: Evacuation order issued for aggressive wildfire near Falkland

FALKLAND - An aggressive wildfire in the Bolean Lake area of Falkland has prompted an evacuation order.  The blaze, which was reported to B.C. Wildfire about 2 p.m. Monday, July 20, quickly grew to an estimated 300 hectares in size up from four hectares earlier in the day. B.C. Wildfire reported Tuesday morning the blaze...

UPDATE: Coldstream Creek fire near Ashcroft grows, evacuation alert issued

ASHCROFT - B.C. Wildfire crews are battling an aggressive lightning-caused wildfire south of Ashcroft today and locals are now on evacuation alert.  The fire was called in around 1 p.m. this afternoon, July 20, and quickly grew to 120 hectares. By 6 p.m. the fire had grown to 600 ha.  Properties on North Road, Landon...

Grass fire sparked north of Vernon

SPALLUMCHEEN - Emergency crews weren’t taking any chances with a small grass fire just north of Vernon beside Highway 97. Fire information officer Kelsey Winter says B.C. Wildfire crews were on the ground alongside firefighters from the Armstrong Spallumcheen Fire Department in an area roughly 15 kilometres north of Vernon near Gurney Creek. The fire,...

Be fire safe, not sorry, when you use your tools and toys in the bush

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you plan on being a lumberjack or ripping around on your ATV in the bush this weekend, B.C. Wildfire Management is asking you to take into account the fire risk before firing up a chainsaw or starting up the quad. “If members of the public or industry personnel plan to do any...

In Kamloops, tossing a cigarette butt will cost you

KAMLOOPS - Fair warning, smokers: If you discard your cigarette out the window, expect a ticket. Kamloops RCMP Const. Jason Epp says police got about a dozen calls about people discarding their cigarettes. So far, four have already been ticketed; more are on the way. Rain over the weekend lowered the fire danger rating in the...

Fire burning near Ashcroft among several new ones in Kamloops Fire Centre

ASHCROFT - Crews are currently on scene of a wildfire that quickly grew to 20 hectares in Venables Valley along Highway 1. Kayla Pepper of B.C. Wildfire says it started this morning and is burning in grass and sage on the west side of Highway 1 southwest of Ashcroft. Early on the fire was more...

HELSTON: One tiny, burning ember can do a lot of damage

All of us were reminded this week how destructive fire can be, in so many different ways. On Tuesday night, we saw how fire can take down a building in mere hours, leaving nothing but ash and rubble. It’s awe-inspiring in the most horrific way. But the physical damage is just the beginning. When Vernon’s...

Emergency crews responding to large fire downtown Vernon

VERNON - A large fire is burning near Vernon’s Village Green Mall. Reports say the fire broke out at the Vernon social assistance office on 48 Avenue, behind the Petro Canada gas station. A tower of smoke can be seen from across the city. Emergency crews are at the scene working to contain the blaze....

Careless use of flare guns believed to have sparked Kal Park blaze

VERNON - A fire in Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park Tuesday night is believed to have been caused by reckless behaviour. Coldstream fire chief Dave Sturgeon says crews responded to a small, one-metre by one-metre grass fire in the Rattlesnake Point area of Kal Park around 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 23. By the time firefighters arrived,...

Concern arises over rash of suspicious Vernon grass fires

VERNON - A pattern of suspicious brush fires in Vernon has the fire department on edge as the region heads into scorching temperatures this week. Since June 11, crews responded to four grass fires in the city, two in Becker Park June 11 and June 12, one in Jubilee Park June 22, and the fourth on...

No fireworks and possibly no campfires allowed this weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Without a significant amount of rainfall Tuesday night, the Southern Interior could see a fire danger rating of ‘extreme’ by the start of the weekend. And that could mean no campfires on the weekend before Canada Day. Kelsey Winter of B.C. Wildfire says the fire danger rating in the Kamloops Fire Centre, which...

Cisco Road wildfire evacuation alert rescinded

LYTTON – The Regional District Emergency Operations Centre has rescinded the evacuation alert for roughly 60 properties near the Cisco Road wildfire near Lytton. The alert was issued at 9 p.m. June 11 for the west side of the Fraser River from the intersection of Lytton Ferry Rd. and South Spencer Rd., south to the...

Man and kids escape fire in Vernon garage

VERNON - A blaze that lit up the night sky over Swan Lake in Vernon Sunday night destroyed a garage and threatened a home on Old Kamloops Road. Firefighters were called out about 9 p.m. Sunday, June 22, BX-Swan Lake Fire Chief Bill Wacey says. A garage was destroyed in the fire, and an adjacent...