Wildfire seen from Kamloops held at less than 2 hectares

A wildfire seen from Kamloops was quickly contained as crews attacked it from the air Tuesday afternoon. The Wheeler Mountain blaze reached 1.5 hectares in size by 7:30 p.m., July 23, when crews managed to keep it within its boundaries. The BC Wildfire Service doesn't expect it to grow and has five people on site to manage the fire, according to fire information officer Aydan Coray. On Tuesday, smoke plumes were seen in the Lac du Bois Grasslands area https://infotel.ca/newsitem/wildfire-spotted-near-lac-du-bois-north-of-kamloops/it105849 from the city as water bombers and skimmers took action to douse the fire. READ MORE: Kamloops eyes September deadline for counter petition on $275M loan https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-eyes-september-deadline-for-counter-petition-on-275m-loan/it105842 The cause is still under investigation, but it was one of several fires to be discovered that day northwest of the city just after a lightning storm the night before. Twelve kilometres to the northwest is a 12 h fire near Tranquille-Criss Creek Road. Coray said that fire is being monitored by air, but there are no ground crews currently assigned to it. Less than two kilometres north there are five people on the ground working on a spot fire estimated to be less than a hectare in size. Both of those fires were discovered July 23. READ MORE: Squatters frequented torched Kamloops shed https://infotel.ca/newsitem/squatters-frequented-torched-kamloops-shed/it105860 Another fire further to the west has 20 firefighters from Ontario working to contain it, along with a smaller contracted crew. Nearly four kilometres east of Red Lake, it's grown to 4.4 h since it was discovered July 22. Near Criss Creek the wildfire service has 10 people on the ground attacking a 5.5 h fire, while the wildfire at Porcupine Meadows Park, measured at more than 30 hectares, is now under control. To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .