UPDATE: Crews get handle on North Okanagan wildfires, Shuswap busy with new starts

Jul 30, 2022 | 11:50 AM

UPDATE: 12:00 p.m. July 30

The B.C. Wildfire Service says both of the new wildfires in the North Okanagan are now classified as “being held.”

The fires near Myriam Creek east of Armstrong, and near Bryers Road east of Lumby, are both still listed as spot sized.

Both were discovered on Friday and the suspected causes are still listed as unknown.

The Wildfire Service is reporting 45 new fires in B.C. over the last two days, and there are now 30 active fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre, tops among the six fire zones in B.C.

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The busiest area for new starts is the Shuswap with about 12 since a lightning storm passed through the area on Friday.

Check the Wildfire Service’s dashboard for updates.

The B.C. Wildfire Service is responding to several new fire starts in the Kamloops Fire Centre, amid an ongoing heat event accompanied by lightning strikes last evening and early this morning (July 29).

As of 11 a.m., there were 13 active fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre, up from the five on Thursday. New starts are reported in the North Okanagan, Shuswap, Savona, Ashcroft and north of Princeton. As of the last update, none of the new fire starts are estimated to be larger than 12 hectares in size.

One of the new North Okanagan fires is near Bryers Road east of Lumby off Highway 6, which is 0.3 of a hectare with an unknown cause.

“We do have a three-person initial attack crew on that fire as well as overhead support keeping its eye on things as well,” said Melanie Bibbau, information officer with the Wildfire Service.

Another new fire is east of Armstrong near Miriam Creek, which is also spot sized with an unknown cause.

“We do have a group of four personnel on route to that fire and it was worked on by an industry team as well who put some water on it and got a guard on that,” Bibbau told Vernon Matters.

Bibbau was not aware of any structures being threatened by the new fires in the North Okanagan.

She also could not confirm if lightning was the cause of those.

One of two new fires in the Shuswap is listed as near Scotch Creek, and is spot-sized.

Map showing active fires in Kamloops Fire Centre and other areas of B.C. as of 10 a.m. July 29. (Image credit: BCWS)

The Nohomin Creek wildfire northwest of Lytton remains the only fire of note listed in the Kamloops Fire Centre, and is estimated at 2,660 hectares in size as of Friday morning.

For updates from the BC Wildfire Service website, click here.

(With files from Dylana Kneeshaw/CFJC Today)

by Pete McIntyre

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