(Image Credit: Kent Simmonds/CFJC Today)

By Victor Kaisar

Westmount Fire

SD73 officials report ‘good progress’ as repair work at Westmount Elementary begins

Jan 29, 2026 | 1:48 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops-Thompson School District says repair work at Westmount Elementary is underway, three months after a suspicious fire disturbed materials that contained asbestos, which forced students to be divided among three nearby schools.

SD73 Superintendent Mike McKay says while contractors are “making good progress,” there is still no estimated date of completion or reopening of Westmount Elementary.

“We are very careful not to make commitments and timelines when all of the progress they’re making is contingent of them seeing a path forward, and if there are any unanticipated barriers, we want to be careful,” McKay said.

“[We’re] really pleased with the level of activity and the effort to shorten the timelines as much as possible.”

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McKay also said an update is expected to go out to parents “in the next week or so.”

“If there is a timeline stated, our hope is to beat the timeline [and] never to go beyond it,” he added. “We need to make sure that when we have a projected timeline, its with high degree of confidence that there are no surprises out there lurking.”

In an update to parents dated Jan. 15, Westmount principal Roy Styles said the school’s ceilings, floors, lockers and other finishes need to be replaced as a result of fire and water damage. He also noted “extensive cleaning and testing” is needed as a result of the smoke damage.

“Some areas of the school, such as the gym and the portables, were not affected by the fire,” Styles said.

Styles also noted student belongings that were left in cubbies or lockers next to the library will need to be discarded because of ash and soot. Those items will be inventoried prior to being thrown away, he added.

“Should further compensation beyond the $100 that was provided in December be required to recover any discarded expensive personal items, please contact me directly,” Styles told parents.

Styles also said SD73 has allocated additional funding so Westmount students can participate in extra field trip experiences, in part because these students have less access to gym time. Westmount teachers will decide how best to use this funding “to provide engaging experiences” for students.

“I will continue to update parents as I receive information from district staff. I continue to be very thankful for the positivity both parents and students have maintained throughout this challenging situation,” Styles said.

The roughly 250 students at Westmount Elementary missed two days of class following the fire. They were then divided by age and sent to Kay Bingham Elementary, Parkcrest Elementary and George Hilliard Elementary so they could resume learning.

While Kamloops Mounties have said the fire is believed to have been intentionally sparked — and a person was seen on the roof of the school at the time — they haven’t released any updates into their investigation.

Police have asked potential witnesses to contact the Kamloops RCMP Detachment at 250-828-3000 and reference file 2025-35751.

McKay will be transitioning out of his role this week to make way for new superintendent Mike St. John, who will take over on Feb. 2. At a media availability on Tuesday (Jan. 27), he said he wanted to use his “final chance” to commend the community for “rallying behind a terrible situation.”

“It is dislocating, it is inconvenient, it is all kinds of things [but] it has been a remarkable piece of teamwork, as good as it could be,” McKay added.

“We never want to say it’s good because we’d rather not be doing this. But when the school is back, there will be a big celebration because they’ll be home again.”