Drought, water advisories & river conditions — Thompson-Nicola region (2026)
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Coverage of drought conditions, water-flow advisories, flood warnings, and water-safety issues affecting rivers, lakes, and waterways in the Kamloops, Clearwater, Blue River, and Shuswap areas, including impacts on water restrictions, recreation, wildfire activity, and regional water management.
Coverage Timeline
- Oct 28 Snowy conditions halting traffic on mountain highway passes near Merritt ↗ CFJC Today details
- Oct 26 Smaller Thompson-Nicola waterways taking the brunt of drought conditions ↗ CFJC Today details
- Oct 18 As parts of the Nicola River run dry, a father fears what his children will inherit ↗ KamloopsBCNow details
- Sep 18 Drought conditions persist across southern B.C. despite recent rainfall ↗ CFJC Today details
- Sep 3 City of Kamloops downgrades to Drought Level 3, eases water restrictions ↗ CFJC Today details
- Aug 22 Yukon First Nations firefighters wonder why they haven't been called to help in B.C. forbidden Castanet Kamloops details
- Aug 13 McArthur Island Boat Launch closes for the season amid historically low river levels ↗ CFJC Today details
- Aug 9 Persistent drought conditions fueling southern B.C. wildfires ↗ CFJC Today details
- Jul 29 Potential blue-green algae reported on Nicola Lake ↗ CFJC Today details
- No word on return for Clinton, B.C., residents as fire burns watershed, power lines | iNFOnews.ca ↗ InfoNews Kamloops details
- Province halts irrigation from Salmon River in response to drought conditions ↗ CFJC Today details
- Jul 17 Water restrictions to take effect Monday as Kamloops moves to Drought Level 4 ↗ CFJC Today details
- Jun 20 UPDATE: Wildfire near Lytton now 'under control' at just over 700 hectares, Hwy 1 reopens ↗ KamloopsBCNow details
- Jun 18 Final snow survey of 2026 indicates another summer of drought concern for the Kamloops area ↗ CFJC Today details
- Jun 8 Evacuation alert issued for Poole Creek, Gates Lake properties due to Place Glacier flood risk forbidden Castanet Kamloops details
- Jun 5 Two-thirds of B.C. snowpack melted; continued drying conditions around Kamloops ↗ CFJC Today details
- Jun 4 Blind Bay beaches remain open despite elevated E. coli levels ↗ CFJC Today details
- Canoe, kayak rentals on pause at Riverside Park after 6 people rescued from Thompson River ↗ CFJC Today details
- May 30 UPDATE: River Forecast Centre downgrade alerts in Kamloops area ↗ CFJC Today details
- Kamloops area starts season at elevated, but easing year-over-year drought conditions ↗ CFJC Today details
- May 29 High streamflow advisory issued for North and South Thompson Rivers ↗ CFJC Today details
- May 19 Officials urge caution around Thompson rivers amid rising water levels ↗ Radio NL details
- May 14 High streamflow advisory issued for Shuswap Lake, Clearwater and Blue River ↗ CFJC Today details
- Oct 7 Power restored in Clearwater but residents asked to continue limiting water use forbidden Castanet Kamloops details
Linked Articles by Source
CFJC Today
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Potential blue-green algae reported on Nicola Lake ↗Jul 29, 2026 · details
KamloopsBCNow
Castanet Kamloops
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Yukon First Nations firefighters wonder why they haven't been called to help in B.C.Aug 21, 2026 · detailsforbidden
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Evacuation alert issued for Poole Creek, Gates Lake properties due to Place Glacier flood riskJun 8, 2026 · detailsforbidden
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Power restored in Clearwater but residents asked to continue limiting water useOct 6, 2024 · detailsforbidden
InfoNews Kamloops
Radio NL
Key People, Organizations, and Places
city: Kamloops , Merritt , Logan Lake , Williams Lake , Salmon Arm , Lytton , Ashcroft
government_body: BC Wildfire Service , City of Kamloops , Thompson-Nicola Regional District , DriveBC
river: Salmon River , Thompson River , South Thompson River , Nicola River
organization: BC Hydro , Thompson-Nicola Conservation Collective
person: Brian Holmes
public_facility: Douglas Lake , Nicola Lake
neighbourhood: Douglas Lake (spaxmn)
region: Nicola Valley , British Columbia
indigenous_nation: Upper Nicola Band
highway: Coquihala Highway , Highway 5A , Highway 97C , Okanagan Connector , Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) , Coquihala (Highway 5)
Source transparency: this page lists public news coverage of the topic above. We do not republish original reporting. Click any article title to view local metadata and a link to the original source. Last updated Oct 28, 2026 9:25 am PDT.