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Wildfire

Grass fire near Keremeos under control

KEREMEOS – Two hours after it was spotted this morning, a grass fire near Keremeos is under control. Firefighters with the Keremeos Fire Department and a three-person initial attack crew from B.C. Wildfire are on the scene mopping up the fire about 8 kilometres west of the village along Highway 3, according to fire information...

Big fires down but not out in Kamloops Fire Centre

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The only two wildfires of note in the Kamloops Fire Centre have been downgraded to patrol status. Shelter Cove fire off Westside Road near Kelowna and Bolean Lake fire near Falkland were downgraded August 5 and will now be monitored by crews of five firefighters. “Patrol status means they are done active fire...

Readers respond to #maninbluesuit

KELOWNA – An InfoNews story about a recent visit by Prime Minister to the Shelter Cove wildfire last Friday has ignited a debate about political photo ops and our decision to not name the Prime Minister during a brief visit last Thursday. The story, “Man in blue suit thanks firefighters,” was shared nation-wide and drew...

Behind the line at the Shelter Cove wildfire

KELOWNA – The Shelter Cove wildfire along Westside Road continues to grow, however Wildfire B.C. says homes and other structures are not threatened and they are confident they will have it under control soon. The fire, which was first reported Monday afternoon, is not yet contained and continues to burn roughly 430 hectares of dry,...

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...

Crews battling wildfire in Bear Creek Park

WEST KELOWNA – Firefighters are responding to a grass fire in Bear Creek Provincial Park on Westside Road. The fire was first reported as small in size but has grown to 50-by-50 metres in size and is burning Rank 2 or 3 uphill, according to unconfirmed reports. The trail has the blaze guarded on three...

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,...

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...

B.C. firefighters getting help from Ontario

BRITISH COLUMBIA - Crews fighting the nearly 200 wildfires raging across the province will get some help from our neighbours out east. A total of 70 personnel from Ontario are arriving today, July 7, to help with fires in the Coastal and Southeast Fire Centres. Two amphibious skimming aircraft, a birddog and an air attack...

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...

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...

FINAL UPDATE: Crews extinguish Lake Country wildfire

LAKE COUNTRY – B.C. Wildfire Management hit a small blaze in Lake Country yesterday afternoon and overnight hard. Fire information officer Kelsey Winter says the fire near Posthill Lake Road in Winfield is 100 per cent contained as of this morning, June 28. She says the wildfire was called in at about 2 p.m. on...

FINAL UPDATE: Wildfire near Zipzone Peachland contained

PEACHLAND – Wildfire Management threw everything they had at wildfire above Peachland this afternoon and it paid off. The blaze is now 100 per cent contained. Smoke from the fire near Zipzone Peachland on Brenda Mines Road was spotting at about 11:30 a.m., June 27. It grew to three hectares in size before crews and...

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,...

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...

Cisco Road wildfire grows under controlled burns

LYTTON - A wildfire that was discovered a week ago near Lytton and grew rapidly over 24 hours has grown again, but this time because of controlled burns. B.C. Wildfire crews are working the Cisco Road Wildfire which was first discovered on June 11. It was first estimated at 150 hectares and by the end...

UPDATE: Firefighters gain ground on Lytton wildfire

UPDATED 10:11 A.M., JUNE 13 LYTTON – The wildfire burning across the Fraser River from Lytton is now 20 per cent contained and there wasn’t any significant growth on the huge blaze overnight. B.C. Wildfire Management says the fire is now 1,270 hectares in size today, June 14, down slightly from the 1,280 ha mapped...