The White Rock Lake wildfire, located approximately 34 kilometres northwest of Vernon, ignited on July 13, 2021. For about two weeks, residents of Monte Lake, the Paxton Valley, Westwold and Falkland remained on high alert as this fire rumbled around, refusing to be suppressed.

Then on Aug. 5, sustained winds of 25 km/hr gusting to 40 km/hr from the southwest blew the fire rapidly to the northeast and east, impacting hydro and transportation infrastructure, and threatening communities. Multiple structures were lost in the Monte Lake area during the fire’s 15 km run.

Please see the attached document to learn more about the look, contamination, and risk associated with the current drug alert. 

View more toxic drug, environmental, and COVID-19 alerts.

Please see the attached document to learn more about the look, contamination, and risk associated with the current drug alert. 

View more toxic drug, environmental, and COVID-19 alerts.

Residents of the 100 Mile House area are advised that the Emergency Department at 100 Mile District General Hospital will be closed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 3 due to unforeseen limited physician availability.

Residents are advised of the following when the emergency department is closed:

Name: Jacqueline Mattice (she/her)
Job Title: Aboriginal Patient Navigator 
Years of Service: 1
Worksite: Cariboo Memorial Hospital
Community: Williams Lake
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc
Advice to live by: "If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you." - Steve Jobs

Please see the attached document to learn more about the look, contamination, and risk associated with the current drug alert. 

View more toxic drug, environmental, and COVID-19 alerts.

Our social media platforms are a great way to engage with our Interior Health community and share information. Check out these recent posts, and consider sharing them with your friends and family on your own social channels. 

If the link to the social channel does not open, please try another browser. You may be able to find these posts on other social channels.

In response to the ongoing toxic drug emergency, a new health alert system has been launched across Interior Health.

“Across the province – in every community – we continue to see tragic deaths due to the toxic drug supply. The new alert system is an example of innovation and community collaboration to save lives in this crisis,” said Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Sheila Malcolmson.

The onset of COVID-19 brought many changes to family caregivers and service delivery. Many services shifted to online and virtual support, leaving some caregivers struggling to access this new platform due to lack of technology. 

Recognizing this need, the Caregivers Network for East Kootenay Seniors, an agency partially funded by Interior Health, purchased 27 iPads. They delivered these iPads, along with cases and Apple pens, to clients in need throughout the East Kootenay.

The Juniper Ridge neighbourhood of Kamloops when it caught fire in 2021

Canada Day is often celebrated around Canada with fireworks. In 2021, Mother Nature provided a light show in the form of a lightning storm for those living in the Juniper Ridge and Valleyview neighbourhoods of Kamloops.

A wooded area below the ridge appeared to have ignited from the lightning and fire quickly spread towards homes in Valleyview, leading to tactical evacuations of homes under threat and Kamloops Fire Rescue calling out every available firefighter to work.