KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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JULY 13, 2017 | Volume 30 No. 83
TODAY’S WEATHER
HELPING HANDS LENT
Sunny and hot High 33 C Low 15 C
UNDER THE BIG TOP AT THE MALL
The list of altruism grows
The circus is coming to town next week
A4
A15
CREWS SEE PROGRESS IN WILDFIRE FIGHT Wildfire Service credits improvements to Mother Nature and solid initial attack ADAM WILLIAMS STAFF REPORTER adam@kamloopsthisweek.com
Tuesday was a good day in the battle against B.C.’s exploding wildfire season. The BC Wildfire Service was battling 183 wildfires across the province when officials spoke to reporters on Wednesday afternoon. There have been 602 fires to date responsible for burning 78,000 hectares and causing roughly $53.5 million in damages. Twelve new starts were reported on Monday, according to Kevin Skrepnek, the chief fire information officer for the Provincial Wildfire Co-ordination Centre. “That is certainly a decrease from yesterday,” Skrepnek said of the overall number of active fires. The province was fighting 217 blazes on Tuesday. The improved situation was largely due to cooperating weather and a robust initial attack, Skrepnek said. “I think certainly yesterday was a good day, compared to what we’ve been seeing over the last week or so, in terms of the lower number of fires, the fact that the vast majority of our active fires didn’t see a lot of growth,” he said. “That was very much to do with the fact we were getting much milder weather as well. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance that weather is going to play over the next few weeks, in terms of how this situa-
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
Volunteers Hanna Vandereijk (left) and Caroline Bouchard met for the first time Wednesday at the Kamloops Food Bank. They joined other volunteers in helping to empty a semi-truck full of supplies, sent by Fort McMurray residents to help wildfire victims in B.C. Bouchard is a local school teacher and Vandereijk is a recent arrival from Hope who will attend Thompson Rivers University in the fall.
tion unfolds.” On Tuesday, the wildfire service estimated 43,000 hectares of land had been burned since April 1. The jump to 78,000 hectares on Wednesday was due to more accurate mapping, not growth. Evacuation numbers across the province have remained relatively steady throughout the week.
Roughly 14,000 residents have been forced from their homes in B.C. “We just want to acknowledge the resilience of the people of British Columbia,” said Bob Turner of Emergency Management B.C., who was also on the conference call. “The consequences of the fire have been
HAIR STUDIO & SPA
relatively stable over the last 24 hours.” Hot and dry conditions are expected to continue in the coming days, which could make the situation increasingly difficult for firefighters. Skrepnek said there is potential for aggressive weather, winds and lightning, moving forward.
Mail delivery resumes Canada Post has resumed mail delivery service in Kamloops after suspending it for one day on Tuesday. Canada Post issued a socalled red service alert on Tuesday, halting mail delivery due to poor air quality caused by forest fires, which continue to wreak havoc throughout the region. While the smoke cleared over Kamloops on Wednesday, Canada Post will further assess the situation going forward. “As you can appreciate, we will continue monitoring the conditions and respond accordingly,” said Canada Post spokesman Phil Legault in an emailed statement.
Expectations of challenging weather on Wednesday prompted an evacuation alert for the entire town of Williams Lake, which has a population of about 10,000, though actual conditions were not as unstable as initially predicted. Williams Lake evacuees would be moved to Prince George, should the road be open to the north at the time of an evacuation. See FIGHT, A5
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