BC Wildfire Service says a cold front that began sweeping the southern half of the province yesterday is bringing in high, unpredictable winds and dry lightning that create the potential for new fires and growth on those wildfire crews are trying to contain. It says crews are bracing for the worst days of the fire season. This comes as the Central Okanagan Emergency Operation centre issued a local state of emergency for West Kelowna because of a fire about 10 kilometres away from the city that is threatening suburbs, schools and businesses. Thousands of people have since been placed on evacuation alert and more than 800 properties have been placed on evacuation order because of the McDougall Creek wildfire.
Evacuees from Yellowknife have arrived in Vancouver after being forced from their homes due to a looming wildfire that threatens the northern community. Preet Dhillon, who was one of the 20-thousand people put on evacuation order, says she didn’t have much choice but to pay more than two-thousand dollars for a flight to BC. This comes even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office convened the Incident Response Group with ministers and senior officials to discuss wildfires burning across the country. It later issued a statement saying there would be “no tolerance for opportunistic price escalation, including airfare.”
The City of Whitehorse says five firefighters from its fire department will be travelling to Yellowknife to help battle blazes in the fire-stricken Northwest Territories. Thousands of people from Yellowknife and nearby First Nations were told to evacuate as a wildfire approaches the area. Whitehorse says it also offered various personnel including engineering staff, waste operators, bylaw operators, parks and recreation maintenance workers, and others, should the territory need them. The city says it is also prepared to offer the use of the Canada Games Centre should they need it to receive any evacuees.
The chief of the Kwikwetlem (kway-QUIT’-lum) First Nation says his entire community is grieving what he calls a “tragic and sudden loss” of one of its councillors. Police have said Stephanie Patterson was found dead in a rural area in Mission, BC, on Tuesday. Chief Ron Giesbrecht says in a statement that Patterson was a keen learner who had been passionate about helping all members of their community. He says the nation is not commenting on the arrest and second-degree murder charge of a 57-year-old man in relation to Patterson’s murder, and is asking for privacy for her family and the community.
A washroom in British Columbia has been named the best restroom in Canada. Owners of the Hard Bean Brunch Co. in Port Moody have won the so-called “porcelain throne” in Canada’s Best Bathroom contest by Cintas Canada. The bathrooms have matching yellow doors, with yellow trim, and are fully enclosed stalls. Heather Rhodes., who co-owns the restaurant, says the business has received 25-hundred dollars worth of Cintas products as a prize.