The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.Fires:Since April 1, 2021:1,513 wildfires805,500 hectaresCurrently burning: 264Active fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 33Coastal: 20Kamloops: 84Northwest: 5Prince George: 58Southeast: 64Resources:Total personnel: 3,627Contract firefighters: 1,185Out-of-province personnel: 519Aircraft (rotary and fixed-wing): 209Evacuations:Evacuation orders: 86 (+12)Evacuation alerts: 125 (+6)Properties:Number of properties on order: 8,262 (+1,655)Number of properties on alert:

The RCMP have now made more than 630 arrests related to blockages set up to protest the logging of old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island, including 56 people who have previously been arrested a combined total of 131 times. The Mounties say 462 people have been arrested for breaching a court-ordered injunction against blockades around the Fairy Creek watershed near Port Renfrew, while the remainder have been for obstruction, mischief and other offences. They say protesters continue to lock themselves into structures and trenches dug into forest service roads and the latest 13 arrests

New survey results suggest Justin Trudeau's Liberals were clinging to a five-point lead on the eve of the federal election campaign.Thirty-five per cent of decided voters who took part expressed support for the Liberals, 30 per cent for the Conservatives and 20 per cent the NDP.Seven per cent would vote for the Bloc Québécois, which is fielding candidates only in Quebec, while five per cent supported the Greens and two per cent the People's Party of Canada.The online survey of 2,007 Canadians, conducted Aug. 13 to 15 by Leger in collaboration with The Canadian Press, cannot be assigned a mar

Two more planes have arrived in Canada from Afghanistan carrying diplomats, special forces troops and refugees fleeing the Taliban.The flights come after order was restored at the Kabul airport after thousands of desperate Afghans rushed onto the tarmac on Sunday to escape the Taliban.The Department of National Defence says says one plane carrying diplomats and special forces troops landed in Ottawa.A second plane carrying former interpreters and their families arrived in Toronto -- the fifth such flight from Afghanistan since the government announced in July that it would rescue Afghans who h

With Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra heading home to Samalkha in Panipat on Tuesday, a grand feast is being organised by the family for around 30,000 people.This will be Neeraj's first visit to his hometown after he won the coveted medal at the Tokyo Olympics.The whole village and distant relatives have been invited for the grand celebration."He will be receiving a grand welcome, I have prepared 'churma' for him. We will keep his gold medal in the temple, as it is after the blessings of God that he has reached these heights. I am looking forward to his arrival," says Neeraj's mother Saroj

To boost 'Ease of Doing Business' for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday approved a list of NOCs required for setting up of industry in the state.With this move, Punjab has become the first state in the country to take systematic proactive steps for improving ease of doing business in matters of NOCs to enable MSMEs to flourish and prosper in the state, an official release said.The Chief Minister had, in his Independence Day speech, announced the state government's decision to promote MSME business in the stat

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 1,434 new cases of COVID-19, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 156,513 cases in the province:Aug. 13-14: 532 new casesAug. 14-15: 441 new casesAug. 15-16: 461 new casesThere are 5,090 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 149,553 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 104 individuals are in hospital and 47 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 72 hours, one new death (Fraser Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 1,780.There are 10 acti

Vancouver Police are investigating after a man’s throat was slashed by a stranger during an unprovoked attack in Mount Pleasant Sunday afternoon. "This attack appears to have been random, and it caused serious injuries to the victim," says Sergeant Steve Addison, VPD. "We believe there were a number of people in the area when it happened, and we’re asking anyone with information to contact VPD investigators."The victim, a 46-year-old man from Vancouver, was near Quebec Street and East 10th Avenue around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon when someone approached from behind and cut his throat, then wa

Vancouver Police arrested a 35 year old man Sunday morning, after two people were randomly assaulted while walking on Commercial Drive."These assaults appear to have been completely unprovoked," says Sergeant Steve Addison, VPD. "Fortunately, witnesses called 911 right away and VPD officers were able to arrest the suspect before anyone was seriously hurt."Police believe the suspect was walking near Broadway and Commercial Drive around 8 a.m. Sunday when he allegedly approached a 35-year-old man outside a fast-food restaurant and sexually assaulted him by groping him from behind. A number of pe