Fire
UPDATE: Fiery crash leads to 9.6 ha wildfire near Osoyoos
OSOYOOS – Two semis crashed on Highway 3 northwest of Osoyoos around 5 p.m. Wednesday sparking a grass fire that threatened a nearby home and sent one of the truck drivers to hospital. A 46-year-old Kelowna man behind the wheel of the logging truck was taken to Kelowna General by air ambulance. He is seriously...
Another late night fire in Vernon
VERNON – Another fire had to be put out by Vernon Fire and Rescue overnight. Police didn't say if the pile of tires found burning on 34 St. Tuesday at around 12:45 a.m.is the latest in a string of 20 suspicious fires in the Vernon area. Items torched included vehicles, a boat, wooden pallets, a dumpster...
Vernon fire crews put out arson fire number 19
VERNON – You can hear the frustration in Capt. Dan Walker’s voice as he talks about Vernon Fire and Rescue crews putting out yet another arson fire in the city. This time someone climbed over the fence at a locked compound behind the Rona Home Centre on 58 Avenue in Vernon’s north end early Saturday...
Suspicious fire near senior care home
KELOWNA – Arson is the suspected cause of a late night fire behind Cottonwoods Care Centre over the weekend. The investigation is in the early stages, but Const. Kris Clark says it looks like a type of fuel was poured onto the ground near a chain link fence that separates Cottonwoods and a private residence...
Neighbour fights fire with a garden hose
WEST KELOWNA – A fire that started in a planter and spread to the siding of a home in West Kelowna was kept under control by a quick-thinking neighbour with a garden hose. Shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday an area resident reported black smoke coming from a home on Ensign Way. West Kelowna Fire Rescue Assistant...
Wildfire near Juniper Beach contained
KAMLOOPS - What began as an abandoned campfire not properly extinguished grew to a 10.6 ha fire this week, according to officials. It's believed a fire in a hay field at Juniper Beach west of Kamloops and near Wallachin started Sunday, June 8, though B.C. Wildfire crews were only called in on Monday. “The smoke...
Entire Kamloops Fire Centre to be under prohibition
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Starting Sunday the annual open fire prohibition will encompass all of the Kamloops Fire Centre as Salmon Arm and Clearwater fire zones are also shut down. The open burn ban is to help prevent human-caused wildfires as we head into a season when lightning ignited fires pick up. “We will likely see more...
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...
Police investigating person of interest in burning hedge
KELOWNA – RCMP are investigating a person of interest who may have information about how a row of hedges caught fire Monday night. Kelowna fire crews were called to a home on Raymer Rd. and Grenfell Cres. at around 9:30 after neighbours reported seeing 30 foot flames coming from a dozen tall cedars on the...
Fire guts mobile home
VERNON - Fire roared through a mobile home in Coldstream Friday morning. Vernon and Coldstream Fire Departments attended the Kalview Trailer Park blaze on Clerke Road, just off Highway 97 south of Vernon around 9 a.m. Fire officials remain on scene. More information will be posted as it becomes available. The Vernon Fire Department has...
Burnt pallets add to list of suspected arsons
VERNON - Police and the fire department are burning for answers after responding to another suspected arson. A flaming pile of pallets drew firefighters to an industrial area in the 4600 block of 34 Street shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday. Authorities are calling the fire suspicious and investigating whether it is connected to a recent...
Early morning house fire made worse by lack of smoke alarm
KELOWNA – A house fire on Badke Road early Thursday morning might have been snuffed earlier if the residents had a working smoke alarm. Platoon Captain Laurie Serres says 15 firefighters were called to a minor house fire at 2:51 a.m. after residents noticed the sounds and smell of fire coming from the attic. “There...
Torched boat latest in series of suspected arsons
VERNON - A torched boat is the latest in a series of suspicious fires under investigation by authorities. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says an 18 foot recreational ski boat with a For Sale sign on it was set ablaze in a parking lot in the 2300 block of 48 Avenue around 11 p.m. Tuesday....
Rash of fires spark concern
VERNON - A series of suspicious fires has police appealing to the public for information. The most recent of the suspected arsons include a vacant building and porta-potty set ablaze Sunday and Monday. Police continue to investigate a pair of suspicious dumpster fires from early May, as well as a chain of unsolved arsons from...
Crews respond to lightning-caused fire near Fintry
VERNON - Efforts are underway to extinguish a fire sparked by lightning in the Fintry area Friday afternoon. Fire information officer Kayla Pepper says a three person attack crew and an air tanker were deployed to the area around 2:30 p.m. The Wildfire Management branch is standing by in case further resources are required. The...