Latest news with #DaybreakKamloops
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Human-caused wildfires are down over the past 'several decades': B.C. Wildfire Service
Wildfires caused by human activity have decreased in recent years, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service. Human-caused wildfires are those started by anything other than lightning — power lines, vehicles, trains, smoking, campfires, industrial activity, light reflecting through glass, you name it; if a human directly caused the fire or something made by humans did, it counts. In an interview on CBC's Daybreak Kamloops, fire information officer Jean Strong said decades of public education campaigns around fire safety — particularly around flicking cigarette butts out the window and safely putting out campfires — have helped bring those numbers down significantly. Fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials are down 94 per cent, Strong said, while those started by campfires are down 60 per cent. "Human-caused fires have gone down overall over the past several decades of data that we have, which is great news," she said. "We're really grateful for the people who have taken those public education campaigns to heart." And while intentionally set fires, or arson, are rare, they do happen, but they're down too, Strong added. Of the 83 fires burning across B.C. on Monday morning, 62 were caused by lightning, while 17 were caused by humans, and four are undetermined. The one 'wildfire of note,' meaning it's created an increased level of interest, is the Izman Creek fire near Lytton, B.C. That fire was caused by sparks from an RCMP trailer, according to police. Strong said human-caused fires are more common during the spring and the fall because people are doing open burning, either for industry purposes or cleaning up their yards. "And then we tend to get more of those lightning-caused fires through those core summer months. But we certainly do still see human-caused fires throughout those summer months, especially as the fuels dry out more and more and become more likely to be receptive to ignition." The B.C. Wildfire Service tracks human-caused fires in about 10 categories, which are reported internally, Strong said. But on its website, it reports only whether fires are caused by humans or lightning. Sometimes the cause of fires is obvious and straightforward, in which case, Strong said the wildfire service incident commander on scene will look for the fire's origin. If it's a little more difficult to discern or the fire is larger in size, a provincial fire origin and cause expert will identify the cause. Just because human-caused fires are trending downward doesn't mean the wildfire service has stopped educating the public about fire prevention. Its website says increased human activity and development are happening near forests, creating more possibilities for wildfires to start and cause substantial damage. And if you accidentally caused a wildfire? "Please report it," Strong said. "I understand that it can be scary, and it could be hard or feel hard to admit that you've contributed to this, but the sooner that we can respond or the structural fire department can get there, whoever gets there first, the better the outcome is going to be." According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, you could face a fine of up to $1 million, and/or be given up to three years in jail, if a fire you started causes a wildfire. The Wildfire Act has laid out different fines depending on how the fire starts and spreads. Strong said while people can be fined for starting wildfires, they can also be fined for not reporting them.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Campaign launches to protect endangered badgers being killed on roads in B.C.'s Interior
B.C. residents are being asked to report badger sightings as part of a new campaign aimed at protecting the elusive American badger. The summer months can be some of the most deadly for American badgers, which are endangered in B.C., according to Karina Lamy, a carnivore conservation biologist with the provincial government. The main reason? They get hit by cars while travelling on the road. "The mortality period for them on the roads … starts June, peaks in July, and then drops off in August," she told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops guest host Doug Herbert. "You might see a female right now with two to three kits, [but] with a mortality rate of up to 80 per cent in some areas, most of the kits might not make it into the fall." In an effort to reduce the number of badgers killed on B.C.'s roads, the province, in partnership with conservation organizations Badgers in B.C. and the Simpcw Resources Group, has launched the B.C. Badger Connectivity Initiative, which aims to create safer road crossings for badgers by designing new highway infrastructure and building passable culverts at five spots in B.C.'s Interior where badgers are most likely to be killed by road traffic. In order to get a better idea of where badgers are, the initiative is asking people who see a badger — dead or alive — to report it on the Badgers in B.C. website. Those reports go into a provincial database that will help the group figure out where infrastructure is needed to help keep badgers safe. "Sightings from people on the land are one of the most important tools we have," Ceryne Staples, who leads the badger conservation program within Simpcwúl̓ecw, said in a news release. A badger sighting in B.C. is rare. "You might ask people in an area where you know there are badgers, and they've never seen one before," Lamy said. Lamy said up to 245 mature badgers live in the Cariboo, Thompson and Okanagan regions, while there are up to 160 in the Kootenay Boundary region. They are considered endangered, after years of habitat loss caused by human development, traffic deaths and persecution; badgers were considered an agricultural pest, according to Badgers in B.C. But American badgers are calm creatures, Lamy said. "I think they're kind of a surprising animal," she said. "A lot of people will think that the badger is a little bit more, maybe like the African honey badger, that it's like this fierce, feisty animal, and they can be. But in the experiences that I've had with them this spring, they're actually a much calmer, relaxed animal that you'd think even when it's been trapped and it's sitting in the cage trap waiting for you to release it." Lamy said the group is currently trapping for badgers so researchers can put harnesses on them to track their location to better understand where they are. They've also put cameras in culverts to monitor passage rates. "Hopefully, with that information, we can design better roads together with the Ministry of Transportation and our First Nations partners."
CBC
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
RV industry hopes for more Canadian road trippers amid tariff uncertainty
Canadian RV dealers say they are concerned about the threat of tariffs on their industry, but are cautiously optimistic that travellers may have a renewed interest in exploring Canada in a recreational vehicle. The vast majority of RVs in Canada are produced in the U.S., mostly in and around Elkhart, Ind. So far, the vehicles have been spared from the United States's 25 per cent auto tariffs and Canada's equivalent retaliatory ones, says Shane Devenish, the president of the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association. But, he says, dealers have been stockpiling units just in case. "[We've] certainly got our fingers crossed that we won't be hit.… It would tremendously affect our industry with these tariffs, if they come on," Devenish told Shelley Joyce, host of CBC's Daybreak Kamloops. Devenish says he wishes more RVs were manufactured in Canada, but the answer is not that simple. "It's a competitive advantage that the U.S. has," he said. "Elkhart is what's called the RV capital of the world. They have a workforce, they have a supply chain. They have the manufacturers right within about a 150-mile radius." Allison Blouin of Fraserway RV in Kamloops, B.C., agrees that the future is unclear. She notes that RVs in the U.S. and Canada use Canadian lumber and some Canadian steel, meaning U.S. manufacturers could be impacted too. "I don't know exactly where the price points will end up," she said. Blouin adds that there is optimism in the industry as they've seen a rise in interest from Canadians looking to travel within their own country amid a trade war. "The RV industry, I think, is going to be a beneficiary of that," she said. "Our backyard is massive. We are anticipating people wanting to spend their money at home and wanting to support local communities, local businesses." Blouin says her company, which also rents RVs, is doing a lot of business with travellers from Europe and the U.S. Devenish says he's hearing from Canadian RV owners who are looking to travel further afield in Canada. "I was at a Moncton [N.B.] RV show a couple weeks ago and more people were talking to me about taking those longer trips that they haven't taken in the past," he said. "People want to enjoy Canada and take the RVs right across the country." WATCH | Why it's the best time to stay local for your trips: How tariff turmoil could make 2025 the best year to get out with an RV and explore Canada 3 days ago Duration 1:49 Kamloops RV dweller to skip U.S. There has been an uptick in Canadians choosing to stay local for their vacations in recent months. Karl Willms, 80, is a Kamloops artist who's travelled the world with his wife and sketchbook — but he's never taken a road trip across Canada before. That's now something the graphic novelist and sketch artist plans to do, instead of his usual trip involving six months in Mexico after a circuitous trip of the southwest U.S. "We're just planning to go across Canada, because of the situation down south, we decided to patronize our own country," he said. Willlms says he plans to stay as far south in Canada as he can with his RV, nicknamed "White Fang." "If it's gravel roads that's fine," the artist said. "I'm very interested in small town Canada. "The Prairie towns I love are towns with a Main Street, a Chinese restaurant, bank and pharmacy, you know, basically. And there's still lots of those towns around."
CBC
30-03-2025
- General
- CBC
Clearwater, B.C., launches its own wildland firefighting team amid ongoing drought
Fire Department Initial Attack crew will be made up of 6 members A small community in B.C.'s North Thompson region is launching its own special firefighting team to suppress wildfires that pop over the summer, as the risk of wildfire in such a heavily forested area remains a key concern for residents. The move comes after the B.C. Wildfire Service pulled initial attack crews from the area several years ago, according to Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell. Now, the B.C. Wildfire Service said, the crews are based in Kamloops, about 126 kilometres south of the community. This is all well and good, but if a wildfire sparks, a more immediate response may be necessary. "Clearwater, if you haven't been here, has probably more trees than any town for per acre," Blackwell told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. Meanwhile, the snowpack across the province is well below normal, and forecasters are worried an ongoing drought plaguing the province will continue through the summer. As British Columbians have come to learn, lots of fuel — trees — and dry conditions can spell disaster when it comes to wildfires. The team, called the Fire Department Initial Attack crew (FDIA), will be made up of six members, according to the district's director of corporate services, Alsid Prime, and they will be used depending on risk, availability and whether B.C. Wildfire crews are involved. The district expects to spend up to $294,532 on equipment and training, paid out from the Wells Gray Community Forest Reserve Fund. These are volunteer positions, however, Blackwell said the team will be paid when training or working on a fire. The district is also adding another person to its two-person FireSmart mitigation crew, which will serve as the wildfire response team during daytime hours in the summer. Those three people, along with a FireSmart Coordinator, will form a four-person team that can respond to wildfires if other FDIA volunteers are busy. That way, there's always someone available to respond to fires, Prime said. The recruitment process hasn't formally launched — but community members are already showing interest in joining the team and making sure their homes are protected against future fires, Prime said. They expect to have the team up and running by May. While Blackwell is happy about the development of the team, he said there are never enough resources when it comes to fighting wildfires in any B.C. community. "I still want my initial attack crews that were formerly here, based in Clearwater, with B.C. Wildfire Service back," he said. Blackwell met with Forest Minister Ravi Parmar recently to talk about how teams in Kamloops will support the needs in Clearwater. He said he wants the FDIA team to be something of a partnership with the province. In a statement provided to CBC News, Parmar said partnerships with local government are "important" when it comes to wildfire response. "The B.C. Wildfire Service team constantly monitors conditions, and when the wildfire risk is high — for any community in B.C. — the B.C. Wildfire Service will base more crews, deploy resources, and work with local leaders to ensure that people are kept safe." Blackwell said he does see a future where B.C. Wildfire crews return to Clearwater on a more permanent basis, but that won't affect the work the local FDIA team is doing. "I think as time goes on, everybody is acknowledging that the risk is increasing," he said. "But I think every community like us needs to look at, what is your risk internally and do you have the right equipment for this? If we were in Kamloops and we had six-storey apartment buildings, we'd be buying a lot of ladder trucks. We don't have that risk. We have this risk and we're dealing with this risk right now."
CBC
30-03-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Clearwater, B.C., launches its own wildland firefighting team amid ongoing drought
A small community in B.C.'s North Thompson region is launching its own special firefighting team to suppress wildfires that pop over the summer, as the risk of wildfire in such a heavily forested area remains a key concern for residents. The move comes after the B.C. Wildfire Service pulled initial attack crews from the area several years ago, according to Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell. Now, the B.C. Wildfire Service said, the crews are based in Kamloops, about 126 kilometres south of the community. This is all well and good, but if a wildfire sparks, a more immediate response may be necessary. "Clearwater, if you haven't been here, has probably more trees than any town for per acre," Blackwell told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. Meanwhile, the snowpack across the province is well below normal, and forecasters are worried an ongoing drought plaguing the province will continue through the summer. As British Columbians have come to learn, lots of fuel — trees — and dry conditions can spell disaster when it comes to wildfires. The team, called the Fire Department Initial Attack crew (FDIA), will be made up of six members, according to the district's director of corporate services, Alsid Prime, and they will be used depending on risk, availability and whether B.C. Wildfire crews are involved. The district expects to spend up to $294,532 on equipment and training, paid out from the Wells Gray Community Forest Reserve Fund. These are volunteer positions, however, Blackwell said the team will be paid when training or working on a fire. The district is also adding another person to its two-person FireSmart mitigation crew, which will serve as the wildfire response team during daytime hours in the summer. Those three people, along with a FireSmart Coordinator, will form a four-person team that can respond to wildfires if other FDIA volunteers are busy. That way, there's always someone available to respond to fires, Prime said. The recruitment process hasn't formally launched — but community members are already showing interest in joining the team and making sure their homes are protected against future fires, Prime said. They expect to have the team up and running by May. While Blackwell is happy about the development of the team, he said there are never enough resources when it comes to fighting wildfires in any B.C. community. "I still want my initial attack crews that were formerly here, based in Clearwater, with B.C. Wildfire Service back," he said. Blackwell met with Forest Minister Ravi Parmar recently to talk about how teams in Kamloops will support the needs in Clearwater. He said he wants the FDIA team to be something of a partnership with the province. In a statement provided to CBC News, Parmar said partnerships with local government are "important" when it comes to wildfire response. "The B.C. Wildfire Service team constantly monitors conditions, and when the wildfire risk is high — for any community in B.C. — the B.C. Wildfire Service will base more crews, deploy resources, and work with local leaders to ensure that people are kept safe." Blackwell said he does see a future where B.C. Wildfire crews return to Clearwater on a more permanent basis, but that won't affect the work the local FDIA team is doing. "I think as time goes on, everybody is acknowledging that the risk is increasing," he said. "But I think every community like us needs to look at, what is your risk internally and do you have the right equipment for this? If we were in Kamloops and we had six-storey apartment buildings, we'd be buying a lot of ladder trucks. We don't have that risk. We have this risk and we're dealing with this risk right now."
