The wildfire that erupted east of Kamloops on Sunday afternoon, now named the Buse Creek fire, has been pegged at about 19 hectares in size as of 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, though no structures have yet been threatened. It is officially deeemd out of control by the BC Wildfire Service.
The blaze is burning south of Hook Road, at the exit to Vernon off Highway 1 and south of the South Thompson River, across from Rivershore Estates. It was was attacked Sunday afternoon with a number of air tankers. Later in the afternoon, they were sent back to base, with the fire being fought with ground crews and helicopters pulling water from the river.
The BC Wildfire Service said the public should expect road closures in the area as work to snuff the flames continues.
Crews will remain on the scene overnight.
VIDEO: Wildfire burning in east part of Kamloops
The fire is burning about 25 kilometres west of downtown Kamloops.
The fire broke out at about 1 p.m. and grew fast, with BC Wildfire Service crews arriving with aircraft, which dropped water and spread fire retardant in the area.
It is not know yet how the fire started, though the wildfire service has deemed it to be human-caused.
According to the wildfire service, there have been 148 wildfires start in B.C. since April 1, with 26 of those blazes within the Kamloops Fire Zone. Total area burned in the province since April 1 has been 936 hectares, with 182 hectares in the Kamloops Fire Zone.
