Republished July 12, 2018 - 6:13 PM
Original Publication Date July 12, 2018 - 5:06 PM
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - A grass fire burning on a First Nation reserve in Kamloops, B.C., has grown to 3.8 square kilometres.
The B.C. Wildfire Service says the blaze on the Tk'emlups reserve is not threatening any homes.
Six homes were evacuated as a precaution on Thursday afternoon but the evacuations were rescinded by evening.
Kamloops Fire and Rescue says the fire quickly exploded in size from about five hectares at noon.
An emergency reception centre has been set up the Secwepemc School.
Fire Information Officer Jody Lucius says 49 crew members, air tankers and one helicopter are fighting the flames.
"The winds in the area are definitely pushing smoke into the Kamloops area, and so that fire is highly visible from the city as well as Highway 1, and we may actually see some significant amounts of smoke coming in to the community," Lucius says.
Kamloops Assistant Fire Chief Steve Robinson says the reserve is not under an evacuation alert.
Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Councillor Nacoma George says Shuswap Road has been reopened.
(CHNL, CKNW, The Canadian Press)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2018