Under the BC Rural Dividend, the Province is providing $9,971 in a new project development grant to the Simpcw First Nation.

The BC Wildfire Service is planning to burn about 75 piles of wood debris in the Mount Kobau area, about 15 kilometres northwest of Osoyoos. These burns are scheduled to start on Monday, Nov. 7 and will be concluded by the end of December 2016.

Effective at noon on June 16, 2016, the Kamloops Fire Centre will be expanding its current Category 2 and Category 3 open burning prohibitions to include a ban on the use of binary exploding targets.

The majority of the thick smoke blanketing many areas of southern B.C., is drifting northward from large wildfires in the United States.

The Kamloops Fire Centre will continue to experience an early drying trend. The Wildfire Management Branch urges the public to be cautious with any open burning due to increased wildfire risk.

Effective at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 15, open fires will once again be permitted in all fire zones within the Kamloops Fire Centre, due to a decreased risk of wildfires.

Effective at noon on Monday, Sept. 15, open fires will be permitted in the entire Clearwater Fire Zone and areas above 1,200 metres in the Salmon Arm Fire Zone within the Kamloops Fire Centre, due to a decreased risk of wildfires.

As wildfire activity continues to increase throughout the province, the Wildfire Management Branch will welcome over 220 additional fire personnel on Friday and Saturday.

Interested members of the public are invited to complete an online survey about off-road vehicle use in the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District until Sept. 7, 2014.

Due to an elevated wildfire risk in British Columbia, the Wildfire Management Branch has requested the assistance of over 70 additional out-of-province personnel to aid in fire suppression efforts.