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FURNITURE FACTORY FUNDS
WILDFIRE SEASON RETURNS
Surrey’s Mako Wood Furniture recently received a large financial boost for its Merritt factory.
The Nicola Valley has already seen its first significant wildfire of the season, growing to over 800 hectares.
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2026
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DROUGHT RISK INCREASED AS SNOWPACK ‘WELL BELOW NORMAL’
The Nicola Valley’s snowpack sits at only 52 per cent of normal. JAKE COURTEPATTE
newsroom@merrittherald.com
The snowpack in the Nicola Valley is among the lowest in British Columbia, setting the region up for a dry and arid summer. The B.C. River Forecast Centre has released its most recent data from weather stations across the province in the April Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin, and while B.C. as a whole sits at 92 per cent of normal snowpack, the Nicola region is far lower at 52 per cent of normal. While a month-over-month decrease in snowpack (from 65 per cent of normal in March) matched the trend of much of the Southern Interior, Nicola was one of just a handful of regions in B.C. considered ‘well below normal’ in April, or below 70 per cent. In fact, only Vancouver Island WILDFIRES: continued on page 3
PHOTO/JAKE COURTEPATTE
SEASONAL PREP: The Merritt Fire Department conducted a prescribed burn on the north side of Mountain Drive on April 8 thanks to ideal weather conditions.
New season.
New office. Come in, say hello and let’s connect
Tony Luck MLA for Fraser Nicola
#112, 1700 Garcia Street Merritt, BC, V1K 1 B8 Call: 236-900-4926 Email: tony.luck.mla@leg.bc.ca Office Hours Mon-Thur 9am-3pm, Fri by appointment Sat-Sun & Stats closed