The director of fire centre operations for the BC wildfire service says this week's heat is expected to contribute to ``severe burning conditions'' in BC's southern half. Rob Schweitzer's crews will be watching out for lighting this weekend, though next week could bring a measure of relief with cooler temperatures and some rain. There were 62 evacuation orders covering more than 3,400 properties at the province's latest count, with close to 17,700 more on alert. In response to the fires, Interior Health says two mobile alternative care sites being set up in the Okanagan ``out of an abundance

B.C. is reporting 204 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 149,648 cases in the province.There are 1,055 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,810 people who tested positive have recovered.Note that the numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed.Of the active cases, 51 individuals are in hospital and 20 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the last 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,771.Since December 2020, the Province has adm

On July 24, 2021, at approximately 4:20 a.m., New Westminster Police Department (NWPD) responded to a call of an un-responsive infant in the 1300 block of 5th Avenue in New Westminster. NWPD completed an assessment and determined suspicious circumstances around the death. IHIT was called in to investigate. IHIT investigators are working closely with our partners at the New Westminster Police Department, BC Coroners Service, and the NWPD Forensic Identification Section. Homicide detectives are speaking with the family and friends to ascertain the specifics around what happened. Local support se

This Friday, TransLink is teaming up with Fraser Health and BC Ferries to bring the Mobile Vaccine Bus to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal ahead of the B.C. Day long-weekend. Ferry passengers eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine can hop on the Mobile Vaccine Bus to receive their first or second dose before getting on the ferry to continue their journey. Two brightly coloured and air-conditioned transit buses will be stationed at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal to provide same-day COVID-19 immunizations to eligible people in a cool and comfortable location. Passengers ages 12 and over are welcome, inclu

Surrey RCMP Robbery Unit is requesting the public’s assistance with identifying a robbery suspect.On July 19, 2021, just prior to 6:00pm, Surrey RCMP responded to the report of a bank robbery in the 17700 block of 64th Avenue, Surrey.The lone suspect is described as a Caucasian man, 30-40 years old, wearing a blue bandanna, sunglasses, surgical mask, and blue shirt on top of a dark blue long sleeve (photo of suspect attached).Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-8477

Vancouver Police are investigating after one man was randomly attacked by three men on Granville Street earlier this month."Unfortunately, stranger attacks have been prevalent in recent weeks throughout Vancouver and this is very concerning," says Constable Tania Visintin, VPD. "In the past two weeks, there have been 17 random assaults reported city-wide."While walking home at around 3:30 a.m. on July 11, the victim was approached by a group of men. Security footage shows one man push the victim down. Another man helps the victim up and they all walk towards a lane near Granville and Smithe st

A powerful earthquake off Alaska Wednesday night triggered tsunami warnings and watches far across the Pacific and led to some anxious hours for residents of low lying regions along British Columbia's northwest coast. The U.S. Geological Survey says an 8.2 magnitude quake hit off the Alaska Peninsula roughly 800 kilometres southwest of Anchorage at about 9:15 p.m. Pacific time. It was followed within half an hour by aftershocks that the geological survey website says had magnitudes of 6.1 and 5.9. Emergency Management BC did not issue a tsunami warning but Ellis Ross, who represents the riding

Orcas from all three pods of endangered southern residents reappeared this week after more than 100 days without a sighting in the Salish Sea. Monika Shields, director of the US based Orca Behavior Institute, says they began hearing the killer whales' vocalizations over a hydrophone and later saw a large portion of K-Pod, about half of L-pod and at least one family group from J-Pod. Shields says she also spotted the youngest member of the southern resident population, born earlier this year, and it looked to be doing well. The inland waters off Vancouver Island are the residents' core summer

On Thursday, July 29, iconic B.C. based restaurant chain White Spot and its Premium QSR brand Triple O’s will be holding a fundraising day to support Canadian Red Cross relief efforts for those impacted by the hundreds of wildfires currently burning in B.C. Taking place at all 96 White Spot and Triple O’s restaurants throughout B.C. and on the 11 BC Ferries offering White Spot, $2 will be donated from the sale of every burger purchased that day for dine in and to go orders (excludes Pirate Paks, Kids Meals, delivery and other discounts). In addition, the Government of Canada and the Gov