British Columbia has lifted the last travel restriction to the Okanagan due to last week’s wildfires near Kelowna. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says in a statement that the travel restriction to West Kelowna lifted at midnight. The restrictions had been in place since August 19th, when the non-essential travel ban to the region was put in place to ensure accommodation spaces are available for evacuees and emergency personnel. The ban for Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Kamloops was lifted earlier this week as the wildfires threatening the region diminished due to rain.
The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre has rescinded all evacuations orders within Kelowna city limits, as well as those for more than 300 properties in the District of Lake Country. However, officials say evacuation orders are still in effect in parts of West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and Lake Country. Meanwhile, wildfires continue to rage in other parts of British Columbia, including the Stein Mountain blaze near Lytton now at close to 33 square kilometres in size. There are currently about 368 active wildfires across the province, with 149 classified as out of control and 14 qualified as fires of note for their visibility and threat to populated areas.
The mother of a 13 year old girl found dead in Burnaby’s Central Park six years ago has told a murder trial about her final farewell to her daughter. The Chinese mother told the court through tears about how she gave the girl a last hug, hours before her death, not knowing she would never see her daughter alive again. The mother was testifying for a second day at the BC Supreme Court trial of Ibrahim Ali yesterday, where the accused has pleaded not guilty to murdering the girl. Neither the mother nor her daughter can be named under the terms of a publication ban.
An advocate group is calling on the federal and provincial governments to step up their support for migrant workers displaced in the Okanagan wildfires in the form of emergency open work permits. The Migrant Workers Centre says in a statement that these workers are often left without incomes when displaced by a wildfire because their work permits do not allow them to work for other employers. Advocates say migrant workers also do not have equitable access to emergency services after being displaced from their jobs in the Okanagan’s agricultural sector. The organization says it is asking federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller to also consider granting migrant workers access to employment insurance benefits when they are unable to work.
A 36 year old man is in custody after an alleged home invasion in Fort Nelson left a homeowner with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Mounties say they received reports of the incident on Wednesday night, when the attacker reportedly entered a home on Boundary Road and took keys from a rack. Police say the homeowner chased the attacker out of the home, only to be assaulted down the street by the suspect before community members intervened, allowing officers to arrest the man after a brief struggle. Randell Cole Auger has been charged with break and enter, theft, obstruction and two assault charges and is being held while awaiting his next court appearance.
Police in Victoria are searching for a man who may have posed as a ride hail vehicle driver, taking a woman for several city blocks before she was able to exit the vehicle safely. Police say the incident happened in the early morning hours of August 13th, when the woman was waiting for a ride-hail vehicle in the 19 hundred block of Store Street. That was when she was approached by the man driving a grey sedan, who indicated he was there to take the woman home before revealing he was taking her “back to his place” after the woman got in the vehicle. Police say they are looking to speak with the driver and witnesses to the event, as well as others who may have experienced similar incidents in the city.