A 33-year-old woman has been charged with six serious offences in connection with two separate grass fires that occurred in Vernon, in B.C.’s Okanagan region, on Aug. 4. According to Vernon North Okanagan RCMP, the first fire was reported on Kammenz Road near Bench Row Road in the afternoon. About 20 minutes later, a second fire was discovered at Carlson Park. Following an investigation, police arrested 33-year-old Maria Benning Bear, a resident of West Kelowna, on Aug. 14. She is facing six serious charges, including arson, mischief causing property damage, possession of incendiary material

A senior man who was seriously injured after being struck by a TransLink bus in Surrey last month has died in hospital. According to the Surrey Police Service, the man, believed to be between 60 and 65 years old, was found seriously injured at the intersection of 128 Street and 96 Avenue at around 9:41 p.m. on July 11. Paramedics rushed him to hospital, where he later died while undergoing treatment. Police believe the incident occurred near a bus stop. The initial investigation has ruled out factors such as excessive speed and impairment as possible causes of the crash. SPS is asking anyone w

A 15-year-old youth has been criminally charged after allegedly making threats to burn down a home in Port Coquitlam. According to Coquitlam RCMP, the case relates to an incident that occurred on May 17 this year. Following an investigation by the General Investigation Section and a review of the evidence, the B.C. Prosecution Service approved the charges on August 4. The youth’s identity has not been released because of his age under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Police also clarified that he is not a resident of the Port Coquitlam area. The youth is facing three charges, including mischi

Vancouver Police have arrested 35-year-old James Christopher Holmgren after Crown counsel approved a second-degree murder charge in connection with a fatal stabbing on Granville Street last year. Police were called to the area of Granville Street and Helmcken Street on November 17, 2025, after reports of a man suffering from a stab wound. The victim, 20-year-old Aymen Al-Hafidh, was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Holmgren was arrested by Vancouver Police Homicide Unit detectives and remains in custody.

More than 500 homes and buildings have been destroyed or damaged by wildfires across British Columbia this year, marking one of the province’s worst years for structural wildfire damage in recent years. Although the total area of forest burned remains lower than in some record-breaking fire seasons, more than 1,000 wildfires have already caused significant damage to structures. Four major fires - Bald Range near Summerland, the Bradley Complex near Vernon, the Big Bar Complex near Clinton and the Brunswick Complex near Boston Bar - have grown to major incidents, with only the Bradley Compl

A 56-year-old man has been critically injured in an overnight shooting in Maple Ridge, B.C. Police say the shooting happened around 10 p.m. Tuesday at a home in the 11400 block of 236 Street. Officers responding to reports of gunshots found the wounded man inside a vehicle outside the residence. The Maple Ridge RCMP Serious Crime Unit has taken over the investigation. Police say no motive has been established and no suspect information has been released. Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the shooting or has dashcam footage from the area around the time of the incident to come forwa

The B.C. government’s decision under Premier David Eby to suddenly shut down its online directory of government employees to the general public has sparked a political controversy in the province. Opposition parties have accused the government of hiding information from the public and undermining transparency. The government, however, says the decision was made to protect employees’ safety, privacy and cybersecurity. Through the directory, members of the public could previously find out which employees worked in different government departments, their positions and how to contact them. Lan

B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad has accused Premier David Eby of blaming U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs for the province’s forestry-sector decline in an attempt to hide his government’s own failures. In a statement Tuesday, Rustad said U.S. tariffs are harmful and should be strongly opposed. However, he said forestry production in B.C.’s Interior began declining as early as 2016, long before Trump returned to office, and has now fallen by about 50 per cent. According to Rustad, poor provincial policies, permit processes that can take two to three years, and uncertaint

A 27-year-old man has died after getting into distress while swimming near Goldstream Falls in Goldstream Provincial Park on Monday evening. West Shore RCMP said officers responded to the incident at around 7:35 p.m. on August 17. The man reportedly went underwater while swimming near the waterfall and did not resurface. Bystanders pulled him from the water and immediately began life-saving measures. Police, BC Emergency Health Services and Langford Fire Department later arrived and continued the emergency response. The man was taken to hospital for further treatment but later succumbed to his