Given the marked increase in wildfire activity in the Okanagan Valley and elsewhere in the province over the past week, the BC Wildfire Service is again urging the public to be extremely cautious with any allowed fire use.

Hot and dry weather is in the forecast throughout the province this weekend, along with strong, gusty winds. The BC Wildfire Service is preparing for increased wildfire activity and urges the public to be cautious with any activities in the backcountry.

The project to pave 48.5 kilometres of Highway 5 between the North Thompson Bridge in Avola and Whitewater Bridge is now complete.

The British Columbia government is committed to making changes to the modified collector vehicle program to allow specialty cars and trucks, up to and including 1974, into the program.

Another hot-in-place asphalt resurfacing project is now complete in the Kamloops area.

Modern technology, improved infrastructure and newer and cleaner buses are topping the list of BC Transit projects for Kamloops soon to roll out under phase one of the new Public Transit Infrastructure Fund.

Carpentry students at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) will benefit from the purchase of various tools, including new sliding compound mitre saws, routers and survey instruments, as part of a $300,000 investment by the Province in new industry-standard trades equipment.

Two local companies will begin resurfacing work in the coming weeks on Highway 97C and the Trans-Canada Highway with the awarding of contracts to Belvedere Place Contracting Ltd. and Dawson Construction.

The Government of B.C. is providing $2.6 million in B.C. Air Access Program funding to support improvements at Kamloops Airport.

The public is reminded that, despite recent rainfall, Category 2 and Category 3 open burning prohibitions remain in place throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre.