Kamloops firefighters say a grassfire which broke out near Cariboo Place in Aberdeen this morning is now under control.

Crews were called to what was then a 50 by 50 foot grassfire around 10:45 this morning. Trees could be seen candling with smoke visible across many parts of Kamloops.

The fire grew significantly coming up the hill from a gully between Cariboo Place and Hillside Drive, with Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc saying it was stopped just across the street from the Aberdeen Mall parking lot.

“The incident commander quickly identified the possibility for growth in this area going up these two channels and so called for additional resources, bush trucks and tender trucks,” he said.

“[They] really did a great job of deploying his resources to make sure we had proper positioning from all three sides to get a quick knockdown.”

The fire appears to have started near where some homeless people were known to be camping – but – it’s also beneath some power lines.

“Things are dry as always and we’re back into a bit of a warm spell so that’s always the concern and its dry grass area and sagebrush and you know – the olive trees here – so lots of good fuel for it to move quickly,” Uzeloc added, noting fire investigators will work to determine a cause.

“It’s good that there’s not much wind today so that prevented it from moving really quickly or jumping.”

A small number of BC Wildfire Service personnel eventually came to help to extinguish hot spots and free up KFR crews but Uzeloc says they weren’t needed when the fire was burning.

– With files from Brett Mineer

BREAKING: Large grassfire burning in #Kamloops on hillside between Cariboo Place and Hillside Drive. Lots of fire trucks, helicopter and a drone getting a look from the air. pic.twitter.com/Sh4nClKfP9

— Brett Mineer (@MineerBrett) August 31, 2022