Burnt clothes, tarps and propane tanks are largely all the remains after an encampment fire in North Kamloops on Jan. 21, 2023.

(SHANNON AINSLIE / iNFOnews.ca)

A North Kamloops riverbank fire last week was fueled by propane tanks stashed at an encampment along the Thompson River, leaving nearby residents fearful for their safety.

Firefighters often respond to fires at homeless encampments and quickly douse the flames, but the added danger of several propane tanks fueling the Jan. 21 blaze stoked fear for nearby neighbours. 

“It was a fierce fire that could have come right up the bank if it was summer,” Riverdale Trailer Park resident Joan Best told iNFOnews.ca.

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Although she didn't hear it, a neighbour told her there was at least one explosion.

Kamloops Fire Rescue responded to the blaze around 8 p.m., which was 40 feet in diameter with "tall flames," according to platoon captain Ken Hart.

"There was a propane tank in the area," Hart said. "It vented off, but that's what it's supposed to do so it wasn't a danger to anybody."

iNFOnews.ca checked the area on Jan. 27, where there were at least four propane tanks strewn about the ravaged encampment.

At least one was badly scorched amid shopping carts and clothes along the riverbank just off Mars Drive.

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No injuries were reported from the fire. It's not clear when or how it will be cleaned.

Less than a week earlier, on Jan. 16, bylaw officers seized a dozen propane tanks from another encampment along Schubert Drive, just a couple kilometres away.

Acting community services manager Will Beatty said it's not abnormal for people living in encampments to use propane for a constant source of heat in colder months.

He did say, however, a dozen tanks from just one encampment would be abnormal. It's not clear how wide an area those tanks were taken from. The stolen tanks that could be identified were returned to owners. Beatty didn't say how many that was, but the remainder were disposed of.

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Bylaw officers also notified Kamloops RCMP, but police are not investigating the stolen propane tanks.

"Police were not involved," Cpl. Crystal Evelyn of Kamloops RCMP said in an emailed statement.

— With files from Shannon Ainslie.

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