MERRITT, B.C. - A grass fire that sparked on Lower Nicola Indian Band (LNIB) land near Merritt is now considered to be under control, but the BC Wildfire Service says more growth is still possible. The Quilchena Creek fire on the LNIB's Hamilton Creek Indian Reserve No. 7 is still an estimated 808 hectares in size, acc...

MERRITT, B.C. - (UPDATE 6:00 p.m.): The BC Wildfire Service says the Quilchena Creek wildfire near Merritt is now an estimated 808 hectares in size, but it is still listed as being held. The fire was previously estimated to be around 550 hectares in size, and its currently projected to remain within its current perimet...

MERRITT, B.C. - (UPDATE 4:45 p.m.): A wildfire that ignited east of Merritt on Wednesday (April 8) afternoon is no longer being held, and it has ballooned to 550 hectares in size.There are 18 BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) personnel responding to the Quilchena Creek blaze on the Lower Nicola Indian Band's Hamilton Creek In...

MERRITT, B.C. - (UPDATE April 9): In an update late Wednesday afternoon, the BC Wildfire Service says the Quilchena Creek wildfire east of Merritt has grown to 150 hectares in size. (Image Credit: BC Wildfire Service) EARLIER: A wildfire has broken out on Lower Nicola Indian Band (LNIB) land just east of Merritt Wednes...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - A pair of projects intended to reduce wildfire risk in the Cariboo could begin as early as this week. The BC Wildfire Service says a 20-hectare prescribed burn near White Road south of Williams Lake could begin as early as Thursday (April 9) and continue periodically until April 24. In a news rele...

LYTTON, B.C. - The BC Wildfire Service says a small wildfire that sparked south of Lytton Monday (April 6) afternoon is now under control at 3.6 hectares.The fire near Siska creek is believed to be human caused, and it was highly visible to people on the Trans-Canada Highway."Crews are onsite at this incident toda...

LYTTON, B.C. - (UPDATE 7:30 p.m.): The BC Wildfire Service says a small wildfire that sparked near Lytton is being held at 3.6 hectares. In an update just after 6:00 p.m., the BC Wildfire Service noted the fire near Siska Creek was displaying rank 1 and 2 fire behaviour meaning a smouldering ground fire with some visib...

KAMLOOPS - A pile burning project at Harper Mountain Ski Hill could begin as early as Thursday (April 2). The BC Wildfire Service says its crews will burn between 50 and 100 piles at the ski resort northeast of Kamloops through April due to the felling and thinning of trees. Smoke may be visible from the Kamloops area....

CLINTON, B.C. - A prescribed burn within the Clinton Community Forest could begin as early as Tuesday (March 31). The BC Wildfire Service says expanded control burning for the 59-hectare project north of the Village of Clinton will begin as early as Monday, April 6, and may continue periodically until April 17. In a ne...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is working with the City of Williams Lake to conduct five prescribed burns within city limits to reduce wildfire risks.The BCWS said burns could begin as early as this Sunday (March 29) and it could continue periodically until April 17, depending on weather condition...

CLEARWATER, B.C. - The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) will be hosting free chipping day events in a trio of communities in the Clearwater-area next month.In a statement, the TNRD said free chipping day events will be held in the North Thompson communities of Birch Island, Vavenby, and Avola on Monday, April 2...

CACHE CREEK, B.C. - The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is supporting the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District and Bonaparte First Nation in a 40-hectare cultural burn in the Upper Hat Creek Valley.The burn, about 15 kilometres west of Cache Creek, could spark as early as Friday (March 27), depending on weather conditi...

WESTWOLD, B.C. - Nearly 100 piles are expected to be burned as part of a project about four kilometres south of Monte Lake. The BC Wildfire Service says its crews are supporting the Okanagan Shuswap Natural Resource District in carrying out the pile burning project to remove fire hazards and debris build up. While the ...

KAMLOOPS - The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) is giving up to $1,000 to property owners who take steps to reduce fire risks near their home.The TNRD says FireSmart using principals by clearing combustible materials such as dry plants, branches or leaves away from any structures can protect your property from ...

SALMON ARM - The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is working with BC Timber Sales to finish off a 54 hectare burn east of Seymour Arm next Friday (March 27).The exact timing of the burn will depend on local weather conditions, but BCWS officials said the burn could begin as early as March 27."Burning will proceed if con...

MERRITT - The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is supporting the Coldwater Indian Band on Thursday (March 19) in a cultural burn south of Merritt.BCWS officials said the project covers a total of 65 hectares between multiple treatment areas. This work involves the final 35 hectares needed to complete the job.The target locat...

KAMLOOPS - The City of Kamloops has opened applications for a pair of FireSmart rebate programs in a bid to try and make it easier for people to take precautions by incentivizing some fuel mitigation work this year. The city is launching a new program after it was given a $200,000 grant from Intact Financial Corporatio...

KAMLOOPS - The first portion of a long-awaited prescribed burn at Peterson Creek Park is expected to get underway as early as next week, depending on site and weather conditions. The City of Kamloops says it will carry out a prescribed burn as early as March 2, with the support from the BC Wildfire Service and Tk'eml&u...

MERRITT, B.C. - The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says the final portion of a multi-year cultural burn project near Merritt will be finished in the coming weeks.The three-year project is being conducted in conjunction with the Lower Nicola Indian Band (LNIB) and included a total of 249 hectares of land, located about six ...

KAMLOOPS - Since 2018, the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) wildfire program has been working on progressing wildfire sciences throughout the Kamloops region. In 2025, the program was approved for certificate programs for wildfire sciences and is now in its second semester. Though the program is new, it has gained a l...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - Residents in Williams Lake and the surrounding area, along with drivers travelling on Highway 20, may notice smoke over the next few weeks. The BC Wildfire Service says a prescribed burn of up to 20 hectares within the Williams Lake Community Forest, nearly 10 kilometres west of Williams Lake on t...

VICTORIA - British Columbia's 2025 wildfire season was about a third as destructive as the record-setting season two years earlier. The Ministry of Forests says in a statement that 8,864 square kilometres of land was scorched by more than 1,350 blazes ...

KAMLOOPS - WorkSafeBC has fined the Provincial Government over $750,000 in connection with a pair of incidents involving the BC Wildfire Service that date back to 2023. An administrative penalty of $759,368.84 was levied on Sept. 25 following investigations into the two incidents - one of which led to the death of a fi...

100 MILE HOUSE, B.C. - A notable, lengthy prescribed burn mission will be taking place in the 100 Mile House wildfire zone over the next two months. The BC Wildfire Service says it's supporting the 100 Mile House Natural Resource District in carrying out five wildfire rehabilitation projects in areas from previous wild...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - The BC Wildfire Service is carrying out another prescribed burn in partnership with Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN). An eight-hectare burn near Brunson Lake, nearly seven kilometres south of WLFN, is expected to begin as early as Tuesday (Oct. 21). The wildfire service says the burn may continue...

ALEXIS CREEK, B.C. - The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is preparing for a pair of prescribed burns west of Williams Lake.The burns could begin as soon as Tuesday (Oct. 14) near the community of Yunisit'in and southwest of Alexis Creek, in the Siwash area.BCWS plans to burn a total of 220 hectares, split into to treatment ...

SALMON ARM, B.C. - A prescribed burn north of Shuswap Lake could begin as early as Wednesday (Oct. 8). The BC Wildfire Service says it will support BC Timber Sales in carrying out a prescribed burn of 54 hectares east of Seymour Arm. In a news release issued Monday, the wildfire service says smoke may be visible from S...

KAMLOOPS - The Mine Creek wildfire burning along the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt is now under control. In an update Wednesday (Oct. 1), the BC Wildfire Service said the fire that briefly closed the stretch of Highway 5 last month is not expected to spread beyond its current perimeter of 2,904.3 hectares...