WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - The first round of burning prohibitions will be coming to the Cariboo Fire Centre. As of 12:00 p.m. Wednesday (May 7), the BC Wildfire Service says Category 2 and 3 open fires will be prohibited across the entire Cariboo Fire Centre. Last year, Category 2 open fires were given an earlier prohibiti...

BARRIERE, B.C. - The District of Barriere has brought in a ban all fires larger than a campfire as of 12:00 p.m. Saturday (May 3).They say this ban on all Category 2 and Category 3 burns is being implemented because of "high seasonal temperatures, continued drought conditions, and resource limitations."Campfi...

KAMLOOPS - Residents in Thompson Nicola Regional District electoral areas who are taking steps to FireSmart their properties will get some extra incentive from the district.The TNRD has launched a rebate program that will refund 50 per cent of the costs of fire mitigation work within 1.5 metres of homes, capped at $500...

MERRITT - The BC Wildfire Service will be conducting training exercises in the Coutlee Plateau area west of Merritt Saturday (April 26) as part of the annual new recruit boot camp that is underway.It says it will be using small burn piles to simulate wildfire response during this training exercise."These exercises...

CHU CHUA, B.C. - (UPDATE April 26, 7:15 a.m.): A grassfire near Darfield is currently being held after quick work from fire crews Friday (April 25) evening. The fire grew to an estimated 18.2 hectares in size, according to the BC Wildfire Service, which says the blaze is not likely to spread beyond predetermined bounda...

KAMLOOPS - The City of Kamloops is temporarily not taking applications for a new rebate that incentivizes the removal of cedars and junipers because of "an overwhelming response" from residents. FireSmart Coordinator Kathleen Cahoon says there were around 200 requests made for new FireSmart assessments after ...

KAMLOOPS - Ryan Edwards is one of about 260 chosen from a pool of more than 2,000 applicants to take part in BC Wildfire Service new recruit boot camps this spring in Merritt. "Protecting B.C.," Edwards replied when asked why he signed up for the job. "The rehabilitation of B.C., its forestry and making ...

KAMLOOPS - The City of Kamloops is expected to soon announce the launch of a new rebate program to incentivize some fuel mitigation work this year. Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR) Life Safety Educator Capt. Jeff Pont says the rebate program will mean people are able to get up to 50 per cent of eligible costs covered to a ma...

KAMLOOPS - The Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) says there has been a lot of interest from community groups that are looking for grant funding that will pay for training and personal protective equipment ahead of the summer wildfire season. CAO Scott Hildebrand says there have been 18 applications for the Coope...

CLEARWATER, B.C. - The District of Clearwater is reminding people to be careful after a trio of fires were sparked near the community over the Easter long weekend.In an update Saturday (April 19) night, the District also said that all of the fires are currently under control.The two blazes that sparked Saturday were lo...

CLEARWATER, B.C. - The District of Clearwater says crews from its local fire department and the BC Wildfire Service are responding to a pair of fires burning in close proximity of each other Saturday (April 19) afternoon. It says the two blazes are roughly three kilometres apart and located just off the Road 2 Forest S...

SHUSWAP - The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) wants to hear from homeowners in Blind Bay and Sorrento who are willing to host a wildfire training exercise on their property next month.The CSRD says firefighters will gather in the two communities on May 10 "for a critical wildfire interface training exerc...

KAMLOOPS - Wildfire season unofficially kicked off this weekend after a grass fire was put out in Strathcona Park Sunday (April 6). While there is no official word on what caused the grass fire, Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR) officials believe this is the beginning of the dreaded wildfire season."There's no definitive...

KAMLOOPS - Details are slim, but Kamloops Fire Rescue made quick work of a highly visible grassfire at Strathcona Park, located in the City's West End, Sunday (April 6) afternoon. Kamloops Fire Rescue (KFR) crews responded to the area just after 5:00 p.m., and had the fire under control not long after. At this time how...

KAMLOOPS - Thompson Rivers University (TRU) received nearly $1.7 million in federal funding to train up to 260 wildland firefighters over a three-year period. Along with the individual training, TRU says the funding from Natural Resources Canada will support the training of up to 18 local response agencies, such as rur...

KAMLOOPS - Emergency crews appear to have made quick work of a small brush fire along the riverbank on Tranquille Road Saturday (March 22) afternoon, though details remain limited at this time. It appears that the fire behind the former Sandbar Grill was sparked by a cigarette butt, though Kamloops Fire Rescue has not ...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - Smoke may be visible in Williams Lake over the next two weeks. The BC Wildfire Service says it's supporting the City of Williams Lake and Williams Lake First Nation with carrying out a 20-hectare prescribed burn northeast of the Westridge Subdivision, between Country Club Boulevard and Westridge S...

VICTORIA - The BC Government says there has been a record number of applicants who have come forward to join the BC Wildfire Service, which is preparing for the upcoming wildfire season which gets underway on April 1. In a news release Thursday (March 20), the BC Wildfire Service said it received more than 1,700 applic...

CLEARWATER, B.C. - The District of Clearwater has established a pair of wildfire response and mitigation initiatives to help it better respond to a growing threat facing the community. Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell says District Council approved the creation of the Clearwater Fire Department Initial Attack (FDIA) C...

LYTTON, B.C. - A pair of prescribed burns near the Village of Lytton are expected to take place next week. The BC Wildfire Service says it's supporting Lytton First Nation in carrying out the two prescribed burns. In a news release issued Tuesday (March 4), the wildfire service says the 47 Field burn will be nearly 43....

KAMLOOPS - Details of a Wildfire Studies Diploma program at Thompson Rivers University have been unveiled. Following a 30-day public feedback process, TRU says the university's Senate and Board of Governors approved five certificates and one diploma program at the Centre for Wildfire Research, Education, Training and I...

KAMLOOPS -- B.C. Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar said the province is providing help to the state of California and the hundreds of thousands impacted by wildfires raging in the Los Angeles County area. "During our most difficult times in British Columbia, when we needed help, California Wildfire was there for us ...

MERRITT, B.C. - The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says it will resume a fuel management project near Merritt this week.In November, BCWS said it was planning to burn about 50 piles of debris along Lindley Creek Road, about 3.5 kilometres west of Merritt.According to a news release issued Wednesday (Jan. 8), that number is...

KAMLOOPS - The BC Wildfire Service is looking back on the fourth-worst fire season on record that saw 1,688 wildfires burn a little over a million hectares of land across the province since April 1.It says there were 394 fires across the Kamloops Fire Centre this summer, where 52,785 hectares of land was burned. Most o...

SCOTCH CREEK, B.C. - The Scotch Creek-Lee Creek fire hall has taken another step toward rising from the ashes.The fire hall, located at 3852 Squilax-Anglemont Road, was destroyed in the Bush Creek East wildfire that swept through the North Shuswap in August, 2023.In a news release issued Tuesday (Nov. 26), the Columbia...

KAMLOOPS - The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) says it is set to complete some prescribed burns in a popular Shuswap Park.The operation is slated to begin Wednesday (Nov. 6) in Tsútswecw Provincial Park, formerly known as Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park.In a news release, BCWS says the fuels management project ...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - A pair of prescribed burns will make smoke visible near the City of Williams Lake and along Highway 5 from Merritt to Hope. The BC Wildfire Service says it will carry out a 23-hectare pile burning on Fox Mountain east of Williams Lake in order to reduce the wildfire hazard and restore local Dougla...

MERRITT AND WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - The B.C. Wildfire Service is notifying residents of Merritt and Williams Lake that it will carry out fuel burning near those cities starting Friday (Nov. 1).The project in the Nicola Valley will take place along Lindley Creek Road, 3.5 kilometres west of Merritt.Crews will begin burnin...