Wildfire alongside Highway 97 east of Falkland being held

KAMLOOPS — A wildfire that ignited east of Falkland shortly after midnight Wednesday (May 31) morning is now being held, meaning it’s unlikely to spread further.

Melanie Bibeau, a fire information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre, says the 4.7-hectare wildfire alongside Highway 97 at Salmon River Road, is suspected to be human-caused. She says the BC Wildfire Service is being assisted by the Silver Creek Fire Department. RCMP and BC Hydro are also responding.

Additionally, BC Hydro’s outage map shows 31 customers around the wildfire have been without power since 12:17 a.m. Wednesday. The cause of the outage is listed as “tree down across our wires.” BC Hydro says power is estimated to return around 1 p.m. Wednesday.

While the wildfire is visibly burning alongside Highway 97, Bibeau says highway traffic is not impacted.