Investigations underway after pair of fires scorch Kamloops North Shore

A few hours earlier, firefighters were called to another fire in the cedar hedges that line the community garden behind the Wilson House, which houses the North Shore Business Improvement Association’s (NSBIA) office.

“I came out of my apartment, came down the basement, came over to the fence over there and saw the flames,” Billie Matheson, who lives in the neighbouring apartment building, told CFJC Today.

“There were a bunch of gardeners and, of course, the fire truck people and bunch of people from the apartment came and jumped the fence and they started to put it out from the other side. It took them about an hour, hour-and-a-half to put it out.”

A row of burnt cedars that line the Rotary Community Garden in north Kamloops on May 29, 2026. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds/CFJC Today)

Burnt cedars with the Rotary Community Garden and the Parnell Apartments in the background on May 29, 2026. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds/CFJC Today)

It was around 10:00 p.m. Thursday night when crews were called to the area near Wilson House, which was not impacted.

“At the time of my inspection this morning, no major damages are evident outside of the localized damage to the fence and hedges,” NSBIA executive director Jeremy Heighton said in a statement.

“It came in initially as a cedar hedge fire,” Chase added. “While we were en route, it sounded like a possible structure fire. Once we got on scene, it was just the cedar hedge.”

No injuries were reported after either fire and there was no major damage, as well. But Matheson still said it was a scary situation as sparks from Thursday night’s fire came close to touching the roof of her apartment building.

“Anybody who’s been through a fire knows that that is devastating to think about,” Matheson said. “A lot of the people are elderly as this was an over-55 building. Lots of people can’t get out, so it’s exceptionally dangerous that they’re down here starting fires.”

No cause has been released for either fire and they are both still being investigated. Matheson also praised the work done by Kamloops Fire Rescue and is grateful for their efforts to keep the area safe.

“They have the patience of saints – all of them,” she said. “They’re kind of fed up with it, too. I’ve talked to a couple of them and they’re kind of fed up with it, too.”

Matheson is also hoping to see more of the brush in the vicinity of the Rotary Community Garden she manages cleared to reduce the risk of future fires. She said a number of plants and other garden supplies were fried and need to be rebuilt.

“If the city could come and do a little bit of that and keep this area cleaned up and take some of that garbage and the burnt trees that are already down there, if they could take that out, they wouldn’t have as much fire starter,” Matheson said.

“Get somebody to help – I’ll help. I’ll volunteer. Just give me permission to do it and I’ll do it.”

– With files from Kent Simmonds/CFJC Today

by Victor Kaisar

Investigations underway after pair of fires scorch Kamloops North Shore

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