The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021.Fires:Wildfires burning in B.C.: 291Since April 1, 2021:1,529 wildfires852,386 hectares of area burnedActive fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 31Coastal: 19Kamloops: 82Northwest: 5Prince George: 56Southeast: 61Resources:Total firefighters and other personnel fighting the fires: 3,849Out-of-province firefighters: 539Contractors: 1,223Helicopters and planes supporting ground crews: 208Evacuations:Evacuation orders: 75 (-5)Evacuation alerts: 122 (-1)Properties:N

The federal Conservatives are pledging to build a million homes in three years if they're elected next month.Party leader Erin O'Toole says the supply of homes has lagged behind the country's growing population and that investors abroad are parking their cash in Canadian residential properties.N-D-P Leader Jagmeet Singh has promised his party would build 500-thousand affordable homes in 10 years, while targeting money laundering and organized crime in the housing sector by making it harder to hide behind nameless companies.The Canadian Real Estate Association says the average home-sale price i

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh participated in 'Annapurna Diwas ' organized by the Haryana Government through video conferencing on August 19. He said "It gives me immense pleasure to participate in the Annapurna Diwas organized by the Haryana government." "This festival is not just for food distribution. It is an opportunity for the hope and faith of the people, service, dedication and cooperation of the government," the minister added.Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), five kilos of wheat per person given to eligible families during the festival.

Afghan nationals gathered in numbers outside the Australian Embassy here in the national capital seeking immigration visas following the recent takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.Australia has recently said it will over a year offer 3,000 places in its humanitarian visa program specifically for those now fleeing Afghanistan. The country's Prime Minister Scott Morrison however clarified in a recent press conference that "I note that some are talking about figures of 20,000 but can I tell you there are no clear plans about that. Australia is not going into that territory"."We heard that Aust

B.C. is reporting 553 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 157,567 cases in the province.There are currently 5,580 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 150,102 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 107 individuals are in hospital and 53 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, one new death (Fraser Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 1,782.There is one new assisted living outbreak at Nicola Meadows (Interior Health), for a total of 11 active outbre

Good luck was not in the cards last Friday afternoon (August 13th) for one driver stopped by BC Highway Patrol on Highway 1 near Popkum.An officer with BCHP was conducting speed enforcement when a westbound vehicle was observed approaching at high speed. Using his trusted laser instrument, the officer obtained a reading of 181 km/h in the posted 100 km/h speed zone. The vehicle, a yellow Nissan GT-R, was pulled over and the officer proceeded to complete an excessive speed ticket ($483 + 3 points), a second ticket for driving without due care ($368 + 6 points) and the vehicle was impounded for

The cost of living across Canada made its biggest jump in 10 years last month as the annual pace of inflation climbed to 3.7 per cent from 3.1 per cent in June. Statistics Canada says that's the sharpest rise since May 2011, in part because consumers have more opportunity to spend as the economy re-opens after pandemic shutdowns. Gas prices climbed 30 per cent compared with July of last year, but economists say a nearly 14 per cent leap in homeowner replacement costs, the heftiest boost since 1987, is the main reason for the increase. Inflation in BC also climbed in July to 3.1 per cent from

BC's New Democrat government says a 4.1 billion dollar, eight lane tunnel will replace the aging and congested George Massey tunnel under the Fraser River south of Vancouver. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming says the new tunnel, rather than a bridge proposed by the previous Liberal government but scrapped when the NDP took power in 2017, has been selected because it causes the least environmental harm, can be started right away and has the approval of the regional district. The link connecting Delta and Richmond is expected to be complete by 2030. Two of the eight lanes will be dedicated t

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says the housing crisis in this country is Justin Trudeau's housing crisis. During a campaign stop in Burnaby, BC, Singh said things have only gotten worse over the past six years. Singh says the NDP plan is to build half-a-million new affordable homes. Jagmeet Singh is pitching a 20 per foreign homebuyers tax in a bid to capture votes in Metro Vancouver. Speaking in Burnaby today, Singh said the tax would apply to the sale of homes to individuals who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is accusing the Liberals' Justin Trudeau of