Former journalist and politician Pat Carney has died at the age of 88. Her niece Jill Carney confirmed in a statement the former M-P died Tuesday night. Carney was the first female Conservative member of Parliament elected in BC and the first female Conservative appointed from the province to the Senate. Born in Shanghai in May 1935, Carney was educated in Canada and worked as a journalist and economic consultant in the Northwest Territories and Yukon before entering politics, first elected to the House of Commons in February 1980 in the riding of Vancouver Centre.
The number of active wildfires in British Columbia has dipped below 450 as cooler weather and recent rain has cut the fire risk. But another hot spell could wipe out those gains as large sections of the province wilt under severe drought. Provincial fire information officer Mike McCulley says the BC Wildfire Service is grateful for rain in BC’s north, helping crews make progress and take advantage of a favourable weather window to battle blazes. The service is reporting just 10 new fires in the last 24 hours amid the easing conditions.
BC Ferries says it plans to have the Coastal Celebration back on track for sailings starting Friday if all goes well with test sailings. The ferry corporation says the vessel had to go in for repairs due to a faulty seal in the boat’s blade assembly earlier this week. It says the blade seals are all set to be replaced and will begin trial runs to Swartz Bay starting tonight. BC Ferries says engineers will work through the night to fix the problem, and says customers who have bookings on the boat should travel as planned and will be notified if anything changes.
Surrey RCMP say it’s been one week since an Amber Alert was activated for Aurora and Joshuah Bolton, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Police say they’re still concerned for the children’s safety after their mother, Verity Bolton, didn’t return them to their father after a trip. Mounties say the children were last captured on video in Merritt back on July 7th, and are now believed to be with their mother, her boyfriend Abraxas Glazov and her father Robert Bolton. Investigators say they’re working night and day to find Joshuah and Aurora, and say tips provided by the public are a key part of the investigation.
An employee at a mall in Langley, BC says she heard a giant boom, the ground shook and she thought they were experiencing an earthquake. But Mounties say a welding truck in the mall’s parking lot had exploded in flames. Police say nobody was hurt in the blast and it doesn’t appear to be suspicious. Madalene Morton, an employee at Epiphany Neighbourhood Art Studios in the Willoughby Town Centre mall, says the explosion caked a nearby building in soot and the truck itself ended up smoking and in pieces.
The City of Pitt Meadows says it will soon be on the hunt for a new fire chief. The city says current chief Mike Larsson is moving on to a new position with the City of Penticton in September after nearly four years in the top job. Mayor Nicole MacDonald says Larsson’s tenure was marked by several improvement to the city’s fire service, including a new 911 radio system and the construction of a new firehall and emergency operations centre. The city says Larsson started as a paid on call volunteer in 2003 and went full time in 2010 before becoming the chief in 2019.