File photo.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
July 14, 2023 - 8:00 AM
The Upper Cold Creek Wildfire, 17 km from Kamloops, is being held.
The fire, likely caused by lightning, was discovered at 3:05 p.m. Wednesday and quickly grew to 10 ha.
By yesterday afternoon, July 13, it had grown to 71.5 ha but was being held, according to BC Wildfire.
READ MORE: Eight new wildfires burning northeast of Kamloops
There are 30 active wildfires in the Kamloops Fire District with a dozen listed as burning out of control.
Most are under one hectare in size but the Kostel Cone Wildfire in Wells Gray Park, which was discovered on July 9, is 2,172 ha. It is suspected to have been caused by lightning.
In BC there are 358 active fires, which include 22 new fires in the last 24 hours. So far this year there have been 1,064 wildfires in BC.
Kamloops will be getting smoky skies today although winds are expected to rise to 20 km/h this afternoon which should clear much of it out. Environment Canada is forecasting a high of 29 Celsius today, a high of 30 C tomorrow with a mix of sun and cloud then sunny and 33 C on Sunday.
The Air Quality Health Index for Kamloops is at eight out of 10, ranking it as a high health risk. People are advised to consider rescheduling strenuous outdoor activities.
Vernon and Kelowna will have some smoke today but will also see the wind rising this afternoon. Highs today are forecast at 29 C rising to 33 C by Sunday.
Smoke is not in the forecast for Penticton which can expect a high of 32 C today and 33 C on the weekend.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
News from © iNFOnews, 2023