KFR called to drown out fire near Sandman Centre overnight

By James Peters
February 11, 2019 - 7:42am Updated: February 11, 2019 - 6:28pm

KAMLOOPS — It may be the most chilly, wintery time of the year, but that doesn't prevent fires from spreading.

That's the message from Kamloops Fire Rescue, whose personnel had to knock down an out-of-control fire not far from Sandman Centre overnight.

Platoon Captain Darryl Cooper says the fire was called in just east of the arena, and was scorching a spruce tree. 

"They tried using the water cannon at first to hit, and used some shovels. That got most of it, but then they noticed the fire was travelling up the tree," said Cooper. "It was about a 35-foot blue spruce. So they stretched an inch-and-three-quarter (water line) to knock the rest of it down. They used about 500 gallons of water with some foam on it."

Cooper could not confirm that the fire began with people trying to keep warm in the bitter cold.

He said there is snow on the ground and the air is cold, but fires are still prone to spread if not kept under control.

"People do think there's not much of a chance of fire, but it is really dry out there. Even though it's cold, it's also very dry. So these things can take off, as we've seen with Cooney Bay recently, too."

City crews cleaning up after multiple water main breaks last week