A storm bringing heavy rain and snow has prompted warnings from the province, Environment Canada and the BC River Forecast Centre. The BC government issued an advisory as the atmospheric river moved in, asking people to be prepared and vigilant. Environment Canada says the storm will bring anywhere from 70 to 150 millimetres of rain to Vancouver Island and coastal and southern BC, including Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The BC River Forecast Centre has issued flood watches on south coast rivers and high streamflow advisories for Vancouver Island, and the Tulameen, Coldwater, Nicola, West and East Kootenay and Elk rivers.
Mounties say it appears a commercial truck crossing over the centre line on Highway 5 set off a crash on Saturday that killed two people. The crash happened on the highway between Clearwater and Barriere. Police say investigators are working to find the cause and the behaviour of the truck leading up to the crash. Police say both those killed were in the car hit by the truck, but no other details on the victims have been released.
Mounties in Revelstoke say a snowmobiler has died in an accident Saturday after getting separated from the group. Police say the 27-year-old man from Quebec was reported missing Saturday afternoon on Boulder Mountain, near Revelstoke. RCMP say he tried to use radio to send his location to the group after becoming separated from them, but he didn’t have GPS or any satellite communication devices and he couldn’t be located. RCMP say a search and rescue team found him in a remote area called “Toilet Bowl,” but he later died.
The world’s largest hockey stick, which has been on display at the side of the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan for decades, has reached the end of its life. The Cowichan Valley Regional District says the high cost of replacement and a public survey where people said they don’t support replacing the stick, set in motion their decision. The district says the Douglas-fir stick and puck have decayed to the point that the structure must be replaced or removed for public safety reasons. It says it’s asking for proposals to see if anyone wants to take possession of the stick, which was first built for Expo 86 in Vancouver before being affixed to the side of the community centre in 1988.
A little shake yesterday afternoon near Oliver is a good reminder that BC is in an earthquake zone. A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was felt in parts of the province’s Interior and it happened northwest of Oliver, which is 390 kilometres east of Vancouver. Earthquakes Canada says it was “lightly felt” in Oliver and the nearby communities of Okanagan Falls, Penticton and Kaleden. The agency says there were no reports of damage as a result of the small quake.
Mounties in North Vancouver say they are trying to find someone who took an injured senior to the hospital last Friday. RCMP say the elderly person was brought to the Lions Gate Hospital by a Good Samaritan who refused to provide his contact information to the staff. Police say they found the senior had suffered a head injury, and it remains unclear how it occurred. Police say they are looking into how the senior got hurt and this “kind-hearted” person might have information to help their investigation.