Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Victor Kaisar

TNRD Wildfires

Slow summer for TNRD Emergency Operations Centre owing to fewer Kamloops-area wildfires

Aug 17, 2025 | 9:34 AM

KAMLOOPS — It’s been a slower than usual summer for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District’s (TNRD) Emergency Operations Centre this year.

Speaking at the Aug. 14 TNRD board meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Scott Hildebrand says the EOC has been activated to respond to wildfires for eight days this summer.

“We’ve had four different fires – the Mount Scatchard, the Nikaia Creek, Izman Creek and Cantilever Bar fires,” he said. “And things so far – knock on wood – have been going quite well this season.”

Three of those fires – Nikaia Creek, Izman Creek and Cantilever Bar – have been in the Lytton area, while the Mount Scatchard Fire was near Chase.

While all those fires were human-caused, the 1,472 hectare Cantilever Bar fire is the only one that has not yet been extinguished. It has been classified as being-held since Aug. 5, meaning its not expected to grow further based on current fuel and weather conditions.

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Hildebrand also told the TNRD board that a rain event on July 21 led to some issues in the Venables Valley area which was impacted by the Shetland Creek fire last summer.

“There was debris through some of the farms at Hilltop Gardens,” he said. “Both were identified in geohazard reports, so nothing has changed. We continue to work with the province on that, but they continue to be a threat in the future for rainfall events.”

Last year, the TNRD’s EOC was active at full capacity for 50 days between July 1 and Aug. 20, with the 28,000 hectare Shetland Creek fire the most notable blaze.

Hildebrand also said Kevin Skrepnek, the TNRD’s Manager of Community and Emergency Services, was deployed to the Regional District of Nanaimo between Aug. 4 and 8 to help with the response efforts at the Wesley Ridge fire.

“The knowledge and experience from our EOC team is well recognized across the province and we’re happy that Kevin could go an assist and train our colleagues the Island,” Hildebrand said.

According to the BC Wildfire Service, the 588-hectare Wesley Ridge fire is currently under control. The nearby Mount Underwood fire is still burning out of control at 3,671 hectares in size, though recent rain has helped crews make progress on this fire near Port Alberni.

There are currently 75 active fires across British Columbia with four fires considered out of control. There are just three active fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre, two of which are under control.

So far, the 907 fires that ignited across B.C. this year have burned 732,811 hectares of land. There have been 164 total fires and 5,200 hectares burned in the Kamloops Fire Centre.

Community wildfire team responds to blaze

Back in the TNRD, Hildebrand also said the Tranquille Valley wildland fire response team was called out action a lightning caused fire, just one week after members completed training through a new pilot program

“The S-100 and S-185 training that we helped provide made all the difference in their ability to respond successfully to this lightning strike and then successful pass it over to the BC Wildfire Service,” Hildebrand said.

“This is just another great example on how this community program is making a real difference.”

While Hildebrand didn’t say when or where the Tranquille Valley team responded to, there were a number of small lightning-caused fires that ignited near Kamloops Lake in early August.