April 11 – The Inkameep wildfire, northeast of Osoyoos, grew to a size of  80 hectares.

An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of this wildfire, which was discovered  last Friday.  The Ministry did say they believed this blaze was caused by a human.

April 14 – 23 firefighters and a helicopter will be on site working to establish more fuel-free areas around the fire’s perimeter.

This fire generated  a lot of smoke in the Osoyoos and Oliver area.

The ministry says this fire was separate and unrelated to the prescribed burn that was undertaken to the south in the same general area by an OIB member. There was smoke visible northwest of Mica Creek and southeast of Oliver on a monitored burn for habitat restoration and fuel reduction says the ministry.

April 18th –  Reliable sources indicate fire investigators have prepared a file for a further police review as one individual has been identified.

“RCMP are aware of the fire off Nk’Mip Road and that it is being investigated by Forest Services as to the source of ignition and point of origin.  As with any fire, if the matter is suspected to be criminal in nature the RCMP are notified. It’s not a police matter at this time” says Sgt. Ken Harrington at Oliver detachment.

Ministry of Forests – KAMLOOPS – Since Friday April 11, the Kamloops Fire Centre has responded to 10 new wildfires, all of which have been human-caused. Of the 32 fires that have occurred in the Centre since April 1, almost all were the result of poorly planned open burning.

This serves as a serious reminder to the public to be vigilant with any open fires and to ensure that they have contingency plans in place to extinguish fires that may escape.

While crews have responded to wildfires across the southern interior, the two largest incidents were in the South Okanagan.