Premier John Horgan says it could be ``weeks or months'' before hundreds of BC wildfires are finally out. Horgan made the comment this morning while visiting the headquarters of the Southeast Fire Centre in Castlegar. He says thousands of evacuees should know B-C's thoughts are with them and ``resources are behind them.'' Concerns have been raised about adequate lodging for evacuees, and Horgan says the province is talking with local governments about creating group facilities at schools or community centres so people forced from their homes can remain as close as possible to their threatened

On July 20th, at approximately 7:00 p.m., Langley RCMP was called to the 8200 block of 197 Street after a report of a vehicle fire was received. Once the fire was extinguished, a body was located inside the burned red Ford F-150 pickup.The area surrounding the scene will be cordoned off for a significant amount of time.The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has assumed conduct of the investigation and has not determined at this time if the event is linked to the Lower Mainland gang conflict.Additionally, investigators ask motorists in the area to review any dash camera footage to se

Vancouver Police are investigating the shooting death of a man in the Strathcona area this morning. A man in his 40s was shot inside the London Hotel, near East Georgia and Main streets, around 5 a.m. today. Two suspects fled the scene and have not been located. VPD investigators believe the incident was targeted. This is Vancouver’s 11th homicide of 2021. The victim’s name is not being released at this time pending next of kin notification.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has reportedly extended its COVID-19 travel restrictions on Canada and Mexico for another 30 days. The move, first reported by Reuters, comes despite the Canadian government's decision to begin easing its own restrictions on fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents as of Aug. 9. It also comes as little surprise: Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Monday that Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas had warned him the U.S. would not be following Canada's lead. Border experts say the Biden administration is likely not ready to open t

About 100 firefighters are set to arrive in B.C. from Mexico on Saturday to help fight the raging wildfires. Public safety minister Mike Farnworth says officials are also in talks with Australia to bring in more help. More than three-thousand firefighters and support staff are battling the blazes, with some having come from Alberta, New Brunswick and Quebec. Nearly 300 fires were burning across the province yesterday, including several encroaching on communities that have issued evacuation orders or alerts.

With COVID-19 protocols in place, devotees offered namaz at Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha today.No mass gathering was seen at Jama Masjid for Bakrid prayers this year."We are thankful to Allah for being able to celebrate Eid in limited numbers. I am grateful to the police for making good arrangements," said an Imam of the Masjid.With all COVID-19 protocols in place, devotees from all over the country offered namaz on Eid-ul-Zuha.The holy festival of Eid-ul-Zuha, also known as the 'festival of sacrifice' or Greater Eid, is celebrated on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, t

In a show of strength, 62 MLAs, arrived at Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu's residence in Amritsar on Wednesday.As per his office, Sidhu had called the party MLAs for breakfast.Amarinder Singh's media advisor in a tweet yesterday had said, "The Chief Minister will not meet Sidhu till he publicly apologises for his personally derogatory social media attacks against him."The MLAs at Sidhi's residence said that the party is united and that there is no need for an apology."Why should Sidhu apologise (to CM)? It's not a public issue. CM has not solved many issues. In that case, he shou

B.C. is reporting 76 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 148,563 cases in the province.There are currently 692 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,099 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 50 individuals are currently in hospital and 12 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the last 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,763. The province has administered 6,233,656 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. As of Tuesday, July 20, 2021, 80.0% (3,

The B.C. government is declaring a provincial state of emergency to support the provincewide response to the ongoing wildfire situation.Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, made the declaration on July 20, 2021, based upon the recommendation from the BC Wildfire Service and Emergency Management BC. The declaration will be in effect starting July 21, 2021.The state of emergency is initially in effect for 14 days once issued and may be extended or rescinded as necessary. The state of emergency applies to the whole province and ensures federal, provincial and local res