A wildfire that flared up along the Trans-Canada Highway between Chilliwack and Hope, B.C., is now classified as "being held," and isn't expected to spread beyond its boundaries. The one-hectare blaze had forced the closure of an eastbound lane on Monday. The BC Wildfire Service says human activity is the suspected cause. It's one of more than 150 wildfires active in the province, with clusters in the northeast and the central Interior. Of those fires, more than half are considered under control, while 37 per cent are out of control and 10 per cent are classified as being held. Nearly 730 fire

A deadline for pro-Palestinian protesters to dismantle an encampment at Vancouver Island University in Naniamo, B.C., has expired without the demonstrators leaving. The university last Thursday issued a trespass notice to the protesters over the camp that has been in place since May 1, saying legal action would be launched if they did not leave by 8 a.m. Monday. It says in an email that as of about 9 a.m. the protesters "(have) not decamped" and the university would be issuing a statement. The protesters say in a social media post that they remain "steadfast" and that by issuing the deadline t

The University of British Columbia says it is "aware" of a social media post that was apparently made by a professor at its faculty of medicine shortly after the attempted assassination of former U.S. president Donald Trump. The school says it is "looking into" the post and that it "does not condone violence of any kind." Posts that appeared on a now deleted X account belonging to Professor Karen Pinder said "Damn, so close. Too bad,” and then later, in response to a comment, “What a glorious day this could have been!” Pinder did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The post

British Columbia's wildfire service says this week will bring "increased heat," marking a 15-day trend of hot and dry weather that has fuelled a surge in fire activity. A provincial fire situation report says there's potential for thunderstorms in the Interior, while the northeast returns to a warming trend after a three-day break. Environment Canada maintains heat warnings for parts of the southern Interior from the Fraser Canyon up to the south Cariboo as well as the Okanagan Valley, communities along the Canada-U.S. border and the Kootenay Lake area. The weather office says daytime highs in

Mounties in Kamloops, B.C., say the search continues for a 50-year-old Alberta man lost in the North Thompson River. Kamloops RCMP say officers responded to a call near a sports complex after a man was reportedly "swept away" by the river on Friday. Police say 50-year-old Stan Cappis and a friend jumped into a fast-moving portion of the river to rescue two young people who got caught by the river's current. Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says Cappis' friend and the youths got to shore, but Cappis was "swept away" and was last spotted around a river bend. Police say efforts by emergency personnel a

Vancouver Island University says it has issued a trespass notice to pro-Palestinian protesters, telling them to vacate their encampment on the campus in Nanaimo, B.C., by Monday. The university says in a statement the notice was issued Thursday and if protesters aren't gone by 8 a.m. Monday the university will "take all legal steps necessary to remove them." It says it will start legal action seeking an injunction against the camp and damages from protesters if the camp isn't dismantled by the deadline. It says the camp that has been in place since May 1 has posed "unprecedented challenges" an

Police in Vancouver, B.C., say a three-year investigation has led to the arrests of six people allegedly connected to a "sophisticated" organized crime group. Police say the probe began in November 2021, focusing on a kilogram-level drug-trafficking operation working both domestically and internationally. They say investigators have since seized more than 200 kilograms of illicit drugs as well as seven guns and $500,000 in cash and jewelry. The first phase of the investigation led to the seizure of three guns and 88 kilograms of illicit drugs in December 2022, and of those drugs, police say 72

Police in British Columbia say four people are dead after a highway collision in the southern Interior, part of a spate of multiple-fatality crashes in the province in the past week. RCMP say the crash involving two cars and a tractor trailer near Becks Road in Keremeos shut Highway 3 for eight hours on Wednesday. They say four members of the same extended family, all in the same vehicle, were found dead at the scene of the "terrible tragedy" that took place around 11:30 a.m. It's the latest in a series of at least four crashes in B.C. that have claimed 14 lives in the past week. Four people w

A long-running and fractious dispute between the British Columbia government and the City of Surrey over its police department has ended with a cash agreement. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says the deal sees the RCMP being replaced by the independent Surrey Police Service on Nov. 29 as part of a $250-million, 10-year agreement. Farnworth says the deal ensures safety for the residents of the Metro Vancouver city and comes with a guarantee that the local government will not levy a police tax to cover transition costs over the next decade. It ends a bitter two-year process of name-calling and