Following a very visible fire this past Saturday in Kenna Cartwright park, Kamloops councillor Bill Sarai asked what tools the city could give Kamloops Fire Rescue to help in preventing those types of situations.

Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc noted how in 2023, the city closed parks and trails multiple times in order to prevent human caused fires during times of increased risk. He says that is not something they are wanting to do in 2025. “Two years ago, we closed parks and trails during extreme season. That was not popular with some members of council, or with many citizens. So last year, we took a real look at it with BC Wildfire, with our parks department and KFR, and we came up with a new protocol where we’re not closing the parks, except when we are working an incident to keep people away safely. Or in some extreme situations that may come up because of actions that are being taken.”

Uzeloc says having people out on the trails and in the parks is the best way to catch anything that may come up in a timely fashion. “That was supported by BC Wildfire and BC Parks. So that is the approach that we’ve taken, and that’s the approach that we’re managing through right now.”

Sarai said that he recently had conversations with Williams Lake councillor Scott Nelson who informed him of fires lit in parks in that community over the weekend. “We are not alone in this issue,” said Sarai. “The Williams Lake coucnillor has put a proposal together which includes a curfew. Individuals on the streets of Williams Lake between a certain time period will be checked by the police to see what, where, when and why they are on the street.”

“I think at the end of the day, we need some type of tool in our tool belt to monitor overnight camping or structures being set up in our green space,” said Sarai.

Uzeloc says the message is education. “It’s no different if it’s in a park or on a riverbank or somewhere else in the city, there is temporary overnight sheltering policy, and that is what is allowed. Anything outside of that is not allowed. And there is no camping in parks allowed, period. So our message would be to citizens, if you see a camp in a park, if you see a camp somewhere where you think it shouldn’t be, or you see it during the day where there is no camping allowed, then please phone in to community services and they will go and they will investigate.”

Kamloops Council is to get a report in June on temporary overnight sheltering. Uzeloc says that is where it will be bringing recommendations to consider on changes to that policy. “So at this time, all I can say is for the people to phone in if they see something and we will investigate it. I would say, I’m not looking to have more work to go through the nights, patrolling and going through areas and needing more resources to do that. I don’t think that’s a good use of taxpayer money. I think helping, having the public help us with things they’re concerned about is a better course of action.”

When it comes to the fire that many saw in Kenna Cartwright on Saturday, May 24th, Uzeloc says investigations into that and other weekend fires are ongoing. “Nothing has been concluded at this point yet. So although we know that the fires are human caused, it’s premature to say that anything was set by anyone.”