The first group of Canadian Armed Forces personnel has arrived in British Columbia to assist with flooding and landslide rescues and recovery. A statement from the Canadian Joint Operations Command Centre says nine members from Edmonton's Third Canadian Division Immediate Response Unit are now in the province to plan and co-ordinate ongoing relief efforts. The statement says the exact size of the expected contingent isn't yet available but it says armed forces members have been ``identified and placed on high readiness to respond.'' A Hercules aircraft arrived in Edmonton last night and is st

Abbotsford, B-C Mayor Henry Braun says the town's flood-damage bill could reach one-billion-dollars.Braun has spoken to both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier John Horgan and other provincial officials about the cost of rebuilding dikes, bridges, overpasses, roads and culverts.He says he has received assurances that governments will provide whatever is needed.Braun estimates about two-thousand of the 20-thousand head of cattle in the flooded area have died and says he's concerned about predictions another 100-millimetres of rain could fall on the town next week.

B.C. is reporting 324 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 213,682 cases in the province.There are 3,380 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 207,779 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 379 individuals are in hospital and 109 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the last 24 hours, seven new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,281.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: twoVancouver Coastal Health: twoNorthern Health: twoIsland Health: oneThere has been one new

Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says the province is rushing to develop routes for veterinarians to access animals that survived flooding that swamped the Fraser Valley. Popham says thousands of animals have died in the region where many dairy and poultry farms are located. She says desperate farmers tried to rescue their animals but had to abandon them as floodwaters started swamping roads. She says even animals that were ferried out of barns are in poor health and need help. Popham says not all farmers had time or the means to get their animals out as water moved in.BC declared a state of

An early morning fire at a recreational vehicle dealership in Abbotsford taxed already-stretched first responders in that city even more. The blaze broke out at around 6:30 a.m. at Four Seasons RV Rentals along flood-damaged Highway 1 and quickly engulfed dozens of the units that were parked tightly together. Fire crews had trouble reaching the scene because the business is almost completely surrounded by floodwaters and crews were also hampered by the 500,000 kilovolt transmission lines directly above the flames. Fire Chief Darrell Lee says particulates in the thick smoke created by the burn

Dairy farmers in flood-affected British Columbia are being asked to dump milk because mudslides and road washouts have made it impossible to transport. The B.C. Milk Marketing Board is advising producers in areas like Abbotsford, Chilliwack and the B.C. Interior to dispose of their milk by dumping into manure piles. Mudslides and flooding have cut several key highways in the province. Many B.C. dairy producers have no road access at all to their farms right now. In other cases where milk can be picked up from the farm, there is nowhere for it to go. There are no roads available to enter the B

British Columbia Premier John Horgan has declared a state of emergency after flooding and landslides devastated the southern part of the province. Horgan says the declaration will preserve basic access to service and supplies for communities across the province. He says the government will bring in travel restrictions to ensure that essential goods and medical and emergency services are able to reach the communities that need them. He has also asked the British Columbians to avoid hoarding and said "what you need is needed by your neighbors too."

BC's public safety minister says declaring a provincewide state of emergency is a possibility as communities in the Fraser Valley grapple with the impacts of landslides and flooding after record-setting downpours earlier this week. Mike Farnworth says he plans to raise the issue during a cabinet meeting today. He says a key priority is making sure there's a flow of supplies so people can buy food and essential goods in areas with flooded or damaged roads or railways. Numerous roads and highways are closed due to flooding, landslides or washed-out bridges with Transportation Minister Rob Flemi

The board chair for a group representing BC dairy farmers says efforts to rescue livestock from areas inundated by floodwaters are time consuming and stressful. Holger Schwichtenberg with the BC Dairy Association says he didn't know the number of farmers who've had to move cows, but 25 to 30 milking cows were being moved to his own property from another farm in the Fraser Valley. Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun says he witnessed a number of farmers trying to save their cows as the community put out new evacuation orders Tuesday. Braun told reporters he saw farmers using powerboats to haul cows o