Saturday, July 11, 2026

📰 News

Kamloops unemployment rose from 5.9% to 6.9% in June. CFJC reports the local labour-force participation rate held at 65% while the unemployment rate climbed for another month. (CFJC Today)

Royal Inland Hospital has opened the acute treatment area in its emergency department. The upgraded space includes eight examination rooms, two care-team stations, a medication room and a family room connected to the mental-health and substance-use area. Work now shifts to the final phase, including two additional trauma bays and two new resuscitation rooms. (Interior Health)

ASK Wellness wants the province to publish data that could settle claims about where unhoused people come from. CEO Bob Hughes told CFJC the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction already holds the information needed to test persistent claims that communities are moving people elsewhere. (CFJC Today)

Merritt’s emergency department will close from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. It is the city’s second ER closure this month and comes while Bass Coast, wildfire crews and evacuees have increased the local population. Patients needing emergency care will be directed to RIH; life-threatening emergencies should still go through 911. (CFJC Today · Castanet)

The Kamloops Symphony will open its 50th season with Juno-winning Inuk composer and soprano Deantha Edmunds. The September 25 Sagebrush Theatre program will feature three of Edmunds’ works and preserve a collaboration originally conceived with the late Cree-Mennonite cellist and composer Cris Derksen. (Castanet)

---

🚨 Safety

Kamloops and the South Thompson have been downgraded from an orange to a yellow air-quality warning. Conditions can still change quickly, but the latest Kamloops AQHI reading was 3, or low risk. (Radio NL · CFJC Today)

The two Fraser Canyon Fires of Note remain large and active. BC Wildfire lists Ainslie Creek at 15,847 hectares and Brunswick Creek at 2,836 hectares. (Ainslie Creek · Brunswick Creek)

Two men have been charged after a Kamloops RCMP bait car was stolen on the Tk’emlúps reserve. Police said the vehicle was activated June 24 and stopped after being driven dangerously; the accused face charges including motor-vehicle theft, dangerous operation and resisting arrest. (Castanet)

---

📅 Events

The new Kamloops Events calendar is live. It now organizes 284 listings from 15 local and official calendars by date, category and audience. The default view stays focused on Kamloops, with a separate Sun Peaks filter for nearby concerts, markets, festivals and outdoor events.

Build & Sip: LEGO is listed for Sunday at Monte Creek Winery, with a relaxed build session scheduled from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. (Castanet)

---

🛣️ Roads & Weather

🌤️ Saturday’s forecast calls for a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 27°C. Sunday is forecast to be sunny with a high of 26°C.

🚧 Northbound paving is underway on Highway 5 between Inks Lake Road and the Afton interchange. DriveBC lists daytime lane closures from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays through August 15, with traffic control in place. (DriveBC)

---

🗺️ What’s in My Backyard?

See the development activity around your neighbourhood. What’s in My Backyard? puts 126 active applications on a zoomable map alongside project details, neighbourhood boundaries and zoning.

I built this tracker and the events directory through Trim Automation, my Kamloops software development company, where I help businesses with custom tools and automation.

---

🎮 Daily Game

Chronophoto — guess when each historical photo was taken.