A Pritchard wildfire burned about four-and-a-half hectares this weekend before local fire fighters were able to get it fully contained.
According to Kevin Skrepnek, Kamloops Fire Centre Information Officer, the call came in around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday May 26, reporting a fire in the Pritchard area.
A total of 25 Pritchard firefighters spent about six hours trying to knock the fire down.
Crews doused the surrounding areas in water in an attempt to keep the fire from spreading to the field of dry sagebrush that lay directly beside it.
Fire trucks made continuous trips to the South Thompson River to fill their tanks up with water before making their way back up the hill.
Smoke could reportedly be seen billowing out of the area as far as Kamloops.
With the help of two air tankers dumping three loads of retardant each, as well as a helicopter bucketing water, the fire was fully contained by 4 p.m.
“The fire is still under investigation,” said Skrepnek on Monday morning, “but there wasn’t any lightning in the area, which leads us to assume it is human related.”
