MERRITT B.C. - As the province of B.C. enters a new wildfire season with 110 active fires currently burning, the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is gearing up to supplement their ranks with 250 new recruits. Over the past month the new recruits have been put through boot camp both in Merritt and Prince George to prepare for...

KAMLOOPS - The next generation of BC Wildfire (BCWS) firefighters were able to get a taste of what their future may hold this week. Seventeen students from across School District 73 in Grades 11 and 12 attended the junior fire event at the Kamloops Fire Centre. Every single BCWS firefighter is required to complete the ...

SKWLAX - "How do we get people home again?"It's one of the first questions Skwlāx leadership asked each other after the Bush Creek East Wildfire burned through the community last August, destroying more than 30 homes. Eight months since that day, 11 homes have been rebuilt in a new subdivision, with more on ...

KAMLOOPS - Wildfire season has seemingly begun across British Columbia. In the past seven days, there were 44 new fire starts in the province. In the past 24 hours, there were nine new fire starts. Of those, two are out, two are being held, one is out of control and five are under control, according to an update posted...

UPDATE (Monday): The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) issued an evacuation alert for six rural properties south of Quesnel at 7:45 p.m. Sunday.The CRD states an evacuation alert is issued to give residents time to prepare to evacuate their premises or property should it be required. Residents will be given as much advan...

KAMLOOPS - A grass fire popped up at Cooney Bay, on the north shore of Kamloops Lake west of Kamloops Airport, Saturday afternoon (Apr. 20).A social media post notes the fire was reported to authorities in the early afternoon.Both Kamloops Fire Dept and Wildfire 🔥 have been notified. @Kamscan pic.twitter.com/32whTqh...

KAMLOOPS - Spring fire mitigation work is well underway in Kamloops nature parks and spaces around the city. Parks crews and firefighters have been working to remove fuel buildup and conduct prescribed burns in several key areas. The work is meant to lower the wildfire risk to a "moderate to low" level - and ...

SCOTCH CREEK, B.C. - Hundreds of residents within the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) provided the district their feedback regarding their experiences during the Bush Creek East wildfire in the North Shuswap last summer. According to a 203-page report released Thursday (April 11), the CSRD says 473 residents ...

VICTORIA - The B.C. government says it's making it easier for forestry companies to salvage timber damaged by wildfires. Sustainable Forestry Innovation Minister Andrew Mercier says in a statement that changes to the price of fees for harvesting timber on Crown land make salvage "more economic," and will spee...

KAMLOOPS - In the aftermath of the worst wildfire season on record in British Columbia in terms of hectares lost, a task force was formed to make recommendations to government on how to reform and improve wildfire and emergency management. The Premier's Expert Task Force was announced in September of last year and has ...

KAMLOOPS - A wildfire training and education centre will be coming to Thompson Rivers University (TRU).Speaking in Kamloops Thursday morning (Apr. 4), Premier David Eby announced what he calls the first of its kind centre in North America, where students can earn credits for to a post-graduate degree. Eby says the cent...

MERRITT, B.C. - UPDATE (3:40 p.m.): B.C. Wildfire Service says the fire is being held.EARLIER: The BC Wildfire Service posted on Twitter on Wednesday (April 3) to note it is responding to the Petit Creek wildfire approximately 16 kilometers west of Merritt.The #BCWildfireService is continuing to respond to the Petit Cr...

KAMLOOPS - Premier David Eby and Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests, will be in Kamloops on Thursday (April 4) to make an announcement on wildfire education and the Premier's Expert Task Force on Emergencies.The news conference will get underway at 11:00 a.m. at Thompson Rivers University

LOGAN LAKE, B.C. - In August of 2021, the entire community of Logan Lake was evacuated, as the Tremont Creek Wildfire burned through the area, threatening the town. At some points it was uncertain what the fate of the area would be. But thanks to firefighting efforts, and years of FireSmart preparations, Logan Lake was...

VANCOUVER - British Columbia is introducing technology to improve wildfire prediction and decision-making even as the association representing Canadian insurance companies warns residents about the potential for another destructive fire season. The Insurance Bureau of Canada issued a statement encouraging residents to...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - Two prescribed burns are set to take place within city limits in Williams Lake next week. In a news release, the BC Wildfire Service says the prescribed burns will cover a combined 10 hectares in the Stampede Park Grounds, Hillside Park behind Lake City Secondary and Gibbon Street park near the wa...

KAMLOOPS - The wildfires that ravaged North Shuswap communities last summer will be the focus of a public forum at Thompson Rivers University Wednesday (March 6). Environmentalist Jim Cooperman will discuss his two petitions that call for changes to forest management protocols and call for a public inquiry into the B.C...

VANCOUVER - Wildfire fighting and forest management decisions are potentially being hampered by inaccurate government data that misrepresents forest fuel loads in British Columbia's Interior, a new study has found. The B.C. government says the provincial wildfire service is working with the study's lead author and othe...

KAMLOOPS - The 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in British Columbia's recorded history. More than 2.84 million hectares of land was burned by 2,245 individual wildfires across the province. The Kamloops fire centre was the second-hardest hit region of the province, behind Prince George, with 388 fires, inc...

SCOTCH CREEK, B.C. - Residents within the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) are being asked to share their experiences during the Bush Creek East wildfire in the North Shuswap last summer.The CSRD opened an online survey and is host multiple in-person and virtual sessions throughout March so residents can provi...

KAMLOOPS - Wildfire smoke, heatwaves and other weather events have become an expected part of summertime in B.C. For the Kamloops area, this means tourism and events operators have to become even more flexible in order to work around sometimes uncooperative conditions. Typically, July and August are peak tourism season...

More than 100 wildfires are still listed as burning in British Columbia thanks to a combination of a busy wildfire season, extreme drought and generally warmer and drier conditions through December. Forrest Tower of the BC Wildfire Service said that while it's not uncommon for some fires to burn through the winter, tha...

KAMLOOPS - Wildfires are a common occurence in British Columbia. However, the intensity of these fires and the amount of timber burned has dramatically changed in recent years. That has led a group of UBC professors to research how smoke is affecting residents. "Sometimes, the air quality levels can still be quite...

VICTORIA - British Columbia is seeking public input on how it helps disaster evacuees, in the wake of the province's worst wildfire season on record. The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness says it wants to revamp how it provides assistance under the Emergency Support Services program. The program pr...

WONOWON, B.C. - British Columbia's government has been fined more than $700,000 after inspectors say they found unsafe wildfire mitigation practices at a site in the province's northeast. A summary posted online by WorkSafeBC says inspectors went to a site near Wonowon, B.C., where trees were being cut down to reduce w...

British Columbia's 2023 wildfires were a life-changing disaster for many, and their impact has echoed into the holiday season. The fire season was already breaking records by mid-August when forecasters warned that dry lightning and strong winds on the way were a recipe for catastrophe. Thousands were forced to leave i...

KAMLOOPS - The Shuswap Economic Recovery Taskforce (SERT) has launched a $50,000 wildfire recovery grant program aimed at supporting businesses in the North Shuswap affected by the Bush Creek East wildfire earlier this year.Funding will be available to businesses, partnerships, non-profit organizations, First Nations b...

CELISTA, B.C. - The North Shuswap Community Hall was packed with residents Thursday (Nov. 23) night for a community meeting billed Shuswap Firestorm, 'The Last Straw.'Hundreds of North Shuswap residents filed into the community hall in Celista, many gathering for the first time since this summer's devastating wildfires...