Wheeler Mountain Wildfire (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

WILDFIRE SEASON 2024

Wheeler Mountain wildfire one of six new starts north of Kamloops

Jul 23, 2024 | 6:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Wheeler Mountain wildfire burning in the Lac Du Bois Grasslands has been highly visible from the city of Kamloops Tuesday (July 23).

The wildfire is now listed at half-a-hectare in size, with the BC Wildfire service responding with both ground and aviation resources throughout Tuesday afternoon. At this time, fire behavior was not available, but the blaze is still listed as out of control.

“We do have initial attack crews on scene [Tuesday] afternoon, as well as a bird dog (aircraft) overhead keeping an eye on things from afar. We did have retardant tankers as well as the skimmer groups up there, so quite a lot of air activity in the park [Tuesday] afternoon,” said BCWS Fire Information Officer Aydan Coray.

The Kamloops Fire Centre is dealing with a number of fresh fire starts close to the city, with six spot-sized fires alone burning north of the community. With heavy winds forecast for Tuesday night, BCWS is working quickly to get the new fire contained.

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“We did have a number of lightning strikes overnight, particularly in the Lac Du Bois area. The six wildfire starts that we have north of the Kamloops Lake area are all lightning or undetermined, so it’s possible it’s lightning caused. It’s just too early to tell right now,” said Coray.