Wildfire near Kamloops grows as concerns mount

A fast-moving wildfire near Kamloops is prompting concerns for the community.

The Ross Moore Lake fire was first discovered Friday. It was 1,800 hectares on Sunday, burning about 13 kilometres away from Kamloops.

“This fire is highly visible to Kamloops and Highway 5A,” the BC Wildfire Service said over the weekend.

The Ross Moore Lake wildfire located approximately 13 kilometres south of Kamloops. (Courtesy BC Wildfire Service)

It’s considered out of control, as the fire continues to spread “and is not responding to suppression efforts.”

Shaelee Sterns, a fire information officer with the Kamloops Fire Centre, says the fire has the potential to grow more, but that it is also dependent on the weather.

“Weather can play a huge role in the fire, [and] in the activity that we see and how that changes the tactics that crews utilize. So today in Kamloops, we are seeing a bit of a higher temperature. It’s partly cloudy with sun so we’re still seeing that slightly decreased relative humidity, so there is the possibility for increased fire activity,” she said.

“It’s something that our crews continuously monitor throughout the day though, specific to the fire in the area that they’re working on. The weather could vary drastically from other portions of the fire.”

The situation has prompted the Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) to issue an evacuation order for about 344 properties in Copper Desert Country as well as the Grasslands.

“If you are in the described area, you must leave immediately,” the district urged on its website.

TNRD EOC has issued an expanded evacuation order, due to the Ross Moore Lake Fire. An evacuation order is now in effect for approximately 344 addressed properties in the TNRD as outlined on the map.
For more information https://t.co/4UbQXYEphv pic.twitter.com/kj9o5Z7aPP

— TNRD (@TNRD) July 24, 2023

An alert for nearly 160 properties is also in place, with people told to prepare to leave at a moment’s notice should the situation change.

“This Evacuation Alert is in place to prepare you to evacuate your premises or property should it be found necessary. Residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to an Evacuation Order; however, you may receive limited notice due to changing conditions,” the TNRD said.

The BC Wildfire Service currently has the Ross Moore Lake fire’s cause listed as lightning/natural.

Concerns grow over wildfire situation in B.C.

B.C. is dealing with about 480 fires across the province, with support continuing to arrive from abroad.

The situation is one Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma describes as worrying.

“What we’re seeing here in British Columbia is a combination of extreme weather events that are creating enormous concern for myself as minister and our government overall. One of those concerns, absolutely, is the extreme drought,” she said.

“A lot of the impacts of what we are forecasting will likely not be felt by communities for many weeks yet.”

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While parts of B.C. have rain in the forecast to start the week, there’s no significant precipitation expected for the Kamloops area, where conditions are set to remain warm and dry for the rest of the week.

“We’re working with the communities to ensure that the areas that are needing to be evacuated are the ones that are targeted as much as possible, not only through alerts but also through our door-to-door evacuation efforts and so forth,” Ma said over the weekend.

On Friday, 100 Brazilian firefighters arrived in B.C. before they were deployed to the Prince George Fire Centre. Ma says this marks the first time Brazil has sent firefighters to the province.

100 firefighters from Brazil have been deployed to Prince George to support our fight against #BCWildfire.

They now join 2000 BC Wildfire Service members and 600 other out-of-province resources already fighting fires here in BC. pic.twitter.com/AFtSwDWp7S

— Bowinn Ma (@BowinnMa) July 24, 2023

“But again, the BC Wildfire Service is constantly assessing where their resources are deployed. They are a provincial organization so resources do move around as required,” Ma explained.

The firefighters from Brazil are joining more than 600 other out-of-province personnel and the nearly 2,000 BC Wildfire Service staff currently at work in the B.C.

There have been 1,436 wildfires so far this year, burning a record 14,800 square kilometres as of Sunday.

-With files from Charlie Carey, Greg Bowman and Emily Marsten