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(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)
July 17, 2017 - 1:13 PM
KAMLOOPS - As wildfires burn across our province, fire crews in the City of Kamloops have set up a new Task Force to act quickly when a blaze is sparked.
Kamloops Fire Rescue Asst. Chief Dave McMahon says firefighters knew they were in for tough weekend with the hot and dry conditions to gusts of winds.
Crews are worked around the clock this past weekend responding to several grassfires, including two in the Mission Flats area and another in Valleyview.
Kamloops Fire Rescue has set up a task force of six members to respond to these calls immediately.
"The Task Force was set up just over the weekend so that we have a bit more capacity," McMahon says. "It's something we can implement at any time."
There are a number of criteria crews look at before the Task Force is actived, including weather conditions, call volumes, and how close the reported fires are to the city.
The Task Force put out a fire at the Domtar landfill on the weekend.
"You just look at what happened in Lake Country, fires get away quickly," McMahon says.
Crews have held the Okanagan Centre Fire at 75 per cent containment, but eight homes were lost in the blaze that started on Saturday, July 15.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2017