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Kamloops news

‘Sheer brutality’ earns killer who stabbed friend 12 years

RECEIVES SAME SENTENCE AS LAST TRIAL KAMLOOPS - A convicted killer could be back out in the community in roughly five years’ time after he was handed his sentence today, June 30, for his 'sheer brutality' in the 2008 murder of a Lytton man. Kamloops Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley handed Cory Bird, 27, the...

Campfire bans in effect this weekend for B.C. Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Due to an elevated risk of fire across the Interior of B.C., the Kamloops Fire Centre has banned all open fires, including campfires, as of noon on Friday, July 3. Kelsey Winter of B.C. Wildfire says the step is being taken to prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety around Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon...

Weekend of fires fuelled by lightning

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – There were 35 fire starts this weekend in the Kamloops Fire Centre alone. Of those, 22 were caused by lightning, but the remaining 13 were believed to be human-caused. Penticton was the hottest fire zone in the region with 19 of the 35 starts this weekend, but Fire Information Officer Kelsey Winter says...

UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch issued for Southern Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – We could see severe thunderstorms develop in the Thompson-Okanagan region this afternoon and evening. Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch this morning covering the South and North Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and Okanagan regions and upgraded it to a warning for parts of the South Thompson, Nicola and Okanagan regions for a short...

UPDATE: Semi fire on Coquihalla Highway

MERRITT – A semi burst into flames on the Coquihalla Highway this afternoon, severely restricting traffic for several hours. VSA Highway Maintenance says the route was fully reopened as of 4:30 p.m, June 28. The fire, about 1 kilometre north of the Great Bear snowshed, had forced the closure of one lane. No word on...

Wildfire crews hopping with 16 new fires on weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Almost half of the 16 new wildfires sparked in the Thompson-Okanagan region over the weekend were preventable because people caused them. Kelsey Winter with B.C. Wildfire Management says seven of the fires crews have either put out, or are currently working to put out, have been listed as human caused. The rest of...

Scorching heat sizzles high temperature records

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The heat wave blasting the Southern Interior cranked the temperature up a notch Saturday breaking high temperature records in the Thompson-Okanagan. Canada’s hot spot June 27 was Osoyoos where the mercury climbed to 40.9 Celsius, snapping the old high temperature record of 37.7 C recorded on the same day in 2000. Kamloops hit...

UPDATE: Highway between Merritt and Spences Bridge reopens following rock slide

MERRITT - The highway between Spences Bridge and Merritt has reopened completely following a rock slide yesterday afternoon. According to Drive B.C., the slide took place around 12 p.m. June 26 on Highway 8, at Voght Street, about 45 kilometres west of Merritt. It originially blocked traffic in both directions about 45 kilometres west of...

Heat wave continues though not as hot has originally forecast

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – While it will still be hot this weekend, it won’t be has hot as first forecast by Environment Canada. The Special Weather Statement issued on Thursday, June 25, for the South and North Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and Okanagan warning of temperatures as high at 40 Celsius has been ended. Meteorologists are still forecasting...

Lytton community leader gets three years in prison for bizarre sex assault

SHAVED YOUNG MAN'S PRIVATE PARTS WHILE HE SLEPT KAMLOOPS - A community leader who used his reputation as a means to keep his bizarre sexual behaviour and assault on a young man secret will spend the next three years in a federal prison, a Kamloops Supreme Court Justice decided today, June 26. Michael Hume, a...

UPDATE: RCMP raid huge crystal meth lab in Kamloops, more arrests pending

KAMLOOPS – A massive crystal meth operation capable of producing 60,000 hits of the drug in one batch has been shutdown by Kamloops RCMP in the Barnhartvale area and the two men arrested are facing charges. A house in the 1700-block of Pratt Road has had a heavy police presence in front of it since...

Gottfriedson elected B.C. regional chief

KAMLOOPS – Shane Gottfriedson is B.C.’s new regional chief. Gottfriedson announced a couple months ago he would not seek re-election as head of Tk'emlups te Secwepemc so that he could run for the provincial leadership role. The election took place in Vancouver this morning, June 25, and according to Don Bain of the Union of B.C....

Woman who went missing in Okanagan bush has outstanding warrants

PEACHLAND - The Winnipeg woman who went missing for more than a week and then was found by two men checking on livestock on an old logging road near Peachland is due for a court appearance in Manitoba. Kara Jo Leigh Stoyanowksi, 24, went missing for nine days after she left a recreational area near...

Forecast heat wave prompts warning for people to be prepared

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Hot desert air moving into the Southern Interior this weekend is behind a Special Weather Statement warning people to get ready. Record breaking high temperatures of 40 Celsius are forecast for Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28, in the South Thompson, Nicola and South Okanagan. In the statement, issued today, June 25,...

Police-themed party gets surprise police visit

PRINCE GEORGE - Police-themed birthday parties are all the rage with young boys, often complete with badges and hats, but not all young boys get to have actual cops at their birthday party too. When Cpl. Dave Tyreman found out four-year-old Capper was hosting a police-themed birthday party on June 20 he decided to roll...

Magic of Enchanted Forest put new owner under its spell

REVELSTOKE - The Enchanted Forest had its new owners spellbound from the first time they saw the woodland wonderland many years ago. The roadside amusement park located between Sicamous and Revelstoke on the Trans Canada Highway has, for the fifth time in its 55 years, changed hands, but longtime visitors need not fear any drastic changes;...

Second assault at Kamloops jail this week

KAMLOOPS - Emergency personnel were on scene at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre for an inmate assault this morning, June 24. Dean Purdy, chair of the corrections and sheriffs services component of the B.C. Government and Service Employee’s Union, says an ambulance and fire truck arrived at the jail this morning. “The inmate-on-inmate violence occurs...

UPDATE: Kamloops teen located

UPDATE: 2:55 P.M., JUNE 24, 2015 RCMP say Maycen Charlton has been located safe and sound. 6:52 A.M., JUNE 24, 2015 KAMLOOPS - RCMP are looking for help in finding a 15-year-old who has not been seen since late Tuesday afternoon. Maycen Charlton was last seen around 5 p.m., June 23, near the 1100-block of...

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...

B.C. sending more firefighters out-of-province

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. is answering a request for assistance from the Yukon, sending 31 firefighters there to help fight wildfires. According to B.C. Wildfire, the request was made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, responsible for coordinating sharing of firefighting personnel and resources with other jurisdictions. B.C. just sent 21 firefighters, four fixed wing...

Deceit, identity theft and bigger breasts will cost jailed fraudster over $17K

KAMLOOPS - After stealing an 83-year-old man’s identity to use as a co-signer on breast implants, a tummy tuck and liposuction, a local woman owes more than $17,000 along with nine months in jail, a Kamloops Provincial Court Judge decided today, June 23. Judge Len Marchand sentenced Brandie Bloor, a woman with a history of...

More B.C. wildfire crews heading north to Alaska

KAMLOOPS – A second round of wildfire firefighting resources from B.C. are being deployed in Alaska to help the state battle forest fires. Three rappel crews of three people each, a helicopter operations technician, 10 para-attack firefighters and B.C. Wildfire Management Branch representative left Sunday and arrived this morning, June 22. They are joining an...