The BC Wildfire Service says thundershowers are expected to bring some much-needed moisture to areas of the province where hundreds of fires are burning, including a destructive blaze in the Kootenays. It says in an update that the moisture will likely arrive in the Rocky Mountain Trench in the northeast, as well as the Southeast Fire Centre. There were about 415 fires burning in British Columbia Wednesday, down slightly from the day before, with 163 out of control and four classified as wildfires of note, meaning they are highly visible or pose a threat to people or property. About 110 fires

Mounties in Metro Vancouver say five men have been charged following an investigation that resulted in the dismantling of a large and sophisticated synthetic drug lab. RCMP say they began the probe in 2022, leading to the identification of people suspected of being involved in the production and trafficking of the drug MDMA. In August that year, RCMP say their clandestine laboratory enforcement and response team executed four search warrants in Maple Ridge and Coquitlam, B.C. They say officers found a synthetic drug "superlab" capable of producing multiple kilograms of MDMA per cycle, and seiz

Thirteen people have been charged with mischief over accusations they blocked the Vancouver Canadian National Railway line for hours during what police said was an unlawful protest last May. The Vancouver Police Department says in a news release the BC Prosecution Service approved charges on Monday, following the police investigation into the pro-Palestinian protest on May 31. Police said then that they responded to the scene where 100 protesters were blocking rail line and traffic on Grandview Highway in East Vancouver. Police said protesters refused multiple requests to move and some of them

A British Columbia man is facing almost two dozen charges over allegations of online sexual extortion that police say stem from reports by several victims in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. A statement from RCMP in Burnaby, B.C., says they began an investigation in December 2022 after 19-year-old Anwer Jelassi was identified as the suspect. It says the victims had come forward to report they were being extorted after sharing explicit images with someone they met on social media platforms. The Mounties say the suspect then allegedly demanded money under threat of sending those images to the vi

The leader of British Columbia's Opposition says he would introduce the largest provincial income tax cut in provincial history if his party is elected to form government this fall. Kevin Falcon says BC United would eliminate the tax on the first $50,000 earned by every person in B.C., allowing taxpayers to keep an additional $2,050 on average. He says the cut would eliminate provincial income tax for 60 per cent of B.C. residents, or more than 2.4 million people. Falcon says the tax cut would benefit many elderly people on fixed incomes and families who struggle with the high costs of living.

Police in British Columbia's southern Interior say a single-vehicle crash on the Trans-Canada Highway east of Savona has killed one person. RCMP say they were called Sunday to respond to the crash involving two women from the Metro Vancouver community of Port Coquitlam. Police say their early investigation suggests the pickup truck hit the ditch, then rolled over into the opposite ditch after "overcorrecting." Both women were trapped inside, and police say firefighters helped get them free. They say the passenger was found dead, while the driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The

Police on Vancouver Island are investigating a two-vehicle highway crash that killed one person over the weekend. Nanaimo RCMP say witnesses told police they saw the driver of a car cross the median on the Nanaimo Parkway and hit an SUV head on. Police say the driver of the SUV died of their injuries after being taken to hospital. The other driver has serious but non-life-threatening injuries. It happened at about 8:30 Saturday night and the Mounties say investigators, including a collision analyst, were at the scene most of the night. The crash occurred on the parkway between the Dunster Road

Experts from the navy were dispatched to a Vancouver Island thrift store to deal with what police are calling a "historical military explosive device." Mounties from the Sidney North Saanich detachment say employees from the store in Sidney, B.C., called them around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, reporting the device being dropped off there. RCMP say they evacuated the store and blocked the area as part of the safety measures while waiting for assistance from Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt. Explosive experts from the navy arrived at the scene around 5:30 p.m. Saturday and found the device to be a fake, p

An evacuation order issued Saturday due to out-of-control wildfires south of Valemount, B.C., has been cancelled. Residents in the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George and the Village of Valemount that were ordered to flee can return home. Residents from properties east of Highway 5, south of 17th Ave, and north of the Canoe River were ordered to leave Saturday, and an evacuation alert is now in place for the Cedarside area meaning residents can remain home but should prepare for a potential order to evacuate. Officials say they were able to cancel the order thanks to the fast action of BC