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MERRITT HERALD FREE
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2015 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
POWER POLE COLLISION LEADS TO GRASS FIRE, POWER OUTAGE
Vehicle found unoccupied at the scene, and the RCMP is investigating. Michael Potestio reports. Submitted photo
Firefighters had to stand by and watch a grass fire burn for more than an hour Saturday morning as they waited for BC Hydro to deenergize downed power lines. At about 5 a.m. that morning, firefighters from both the Merritt Fire Rescue Department (MFRD) and Ministry of Forests responded to a call of a grass fire about 5 kilometres south of Merritt off of Coldwater Road. MFRD Fire Chief Dave Tomkinson told the Herald that a pickup truck left the road and sheered off an electrical pole, causing a fire in the surrounding grasses.
See ‘Second fire found’ Page 5
Shopping Local Matters
Delays on Houston due to repaving this week Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
Drivers can expect delays along Houston Street this week as the City of Merritt is having the section of the road between Nicola Avenue and Priest Avenue repaved. The project is taking place between July 13 and 18, and alternating lanes
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of traffic will be allowed through. Public works department superintendent Darrell Finnigan said the reason the work is being done is because the ashphalt is beginning to rut. Before that impacts the base of the road beneath, the city is replacing it.
Weekend storm sparks new wildfires Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
A thunderstorm that tracked through the Kamloops Fire Centre Friday resulted in 18 new lightning-caused wildfires across the region. By the time weekend was up, 12 more wildfires sparked totalling 30 new fires burning in the Kamloops Fire Centre (KFC), and all but two of them were lightning caused. There are currently 50 active fires in the KFC. The BC Wildfire Service anticipates more fires will be discovered from recent thunderstorms, and is asking for the public to report any wildfires by calling *5555 on your cellular phone or toll-free at 1-800-663-5555. Thunderstorms with varying amounts of rain are in the forecast for the next few days, but a return to warm and dry conditions is expected. Most of the 30 new fires were under a hectare in size. The largest one sparked in the Merritt Fire Zone about 20 kilometres south of Princeton off the Smith Creek Forest Service Road and is still active. The fire grew to 24 hectares in size and 13 firefighters responded to it. Airtankers attempted to action the fire but were unable to as a result of poor weather. It remains the same size as of the Herald’s press deadline on Monday. The other lightning-caused fires include a 7.2 hectare fire near Hat Creek Ranch, north of Cache Creek a five hectare wildfire burning near Chuwanten Mountain, east of Manning Park, which are now in mop up stages. The Kamloops Fire Centre has responded to 221 wildfires burning a total of 3,614 hectares since April 1. Of these incidents, 84 were human caused, making up about 40 per cent of the wildfires seen this year. The fire danger rating is still “moderate to high” across most of the fire centre.
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