Image Credit: Curtis Goodrum / CFJC Today

By Curtis Goodrum

FEASIBILITY STUDY

TNRD launching new study into fire protection for Paul Lake-Pinantan Lake corridor near Kamloops

Sep 15, 2025 | 5:19 PM

PINANTAN LAKE, B.C. – The Paul Lake-Pinantan Lake corridor is an area of high wildfire danger, and the fire protection of the rural communities has been largely left to volunteer firefighters.

That may change in a few years as the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) begins a $25,000 feasibility study into fire protection in the area.

“We have four different organizations prepared to put cash and energy into cooperating, sharing resources, having each other’s backs and addressing what we all know is fire risk in this area,” said Lee Morris, the TNRD’s Area Director in Electoral Area “P” (Rivers and the Peaks).

Four separate communities are included in this study: T’kemlups, Pinantan Lake, East Paul Lake and Paul Lake. Each of those communities currently operate small volunteer fire departments of their own.

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“We’re moving forward on a feasibility study that looks at, I suspect, how do we connect these dots along this corridor that we’re talking about for fire protection? That’s the piece of this feasibility study. How do we how do we make how do we make that work?” Morris added.

She said the study aims to get as many community members as possible to voice their opinions if they want to see more fire protection.

“What we’re doing, even just with the feasibility study, is increasing awareness of the importance of fire protection,” Morris said. “We’re doing that before we’ve even started the full feasibility study. We need the community to come out and support or make a comment. We need that input critically from the residents.”

This effort is part of ongoing work by the TNRD to set up rural fire protection services across its jurisdiction in the hopes of reducing the risk of large fires and the impact caused by fires that are sparked.

While communities like Monte Creek have voted to add fire protection service, others like Cherry Creek and Tobiano rejected proposed expansions for a myriad of reasons.

“It’s very definitely planned,” Morris said of the push to expand fire protection services. “Nobody can live in this area or travel through this area without recognizing the fact that, at times, we have faced significant fire issues throughout the area.”

The feasibility study in the Paul Lake-Pinantan Lake area will conclude sometime next year, and the findings are expected to be presented to the TNRD board for consideration.