Firefighters were still at the site of an earlier barn fire on 40th Street NE in Salmon Arm about 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 29.
Emergency crews were called out about 4:15 p.m. when thick plumes of black smoke could be seen at the top of the hill between Salmon Arm and Canoe. Along with firefighters there were police, ambulance personnel and a Wildfire BC crew on site at times throughout the afternoon and evening.
Although unconfirmed, a few bystanders said they thought there may have been vintage vehicles in the barn. Flames were reported to be about 20 feet in the air at one point. One person said several bangs were heard after the fire started.
With the ground tinder dry and temperatures higher than 40 C, a common fear was that the fire would spread uncontrolled. One bystander remarked it was lucky there was no wind.
Although the smoke had dwindled to sparse grey clouds by about 5:30 p.m., emergency crews remained on guard.
In a video shared on Facebook, neighbour Scott Hutchinson said the fire travelled about 350 feet to reach his property where it burned a portion of his field.
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