The B.C. government is declaring a provincial state of emergency to support the provincewide response to the ongoing wildfire situation.Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, made the declaration on July 20, 2021, based upon the recommendation from the BC Wildfire Service and Emergency Management BC. The declaration will be in effect starting July 21, 2021.The state of emergency is initially in effect for 14 days once issued and may be extended or rescinded as necessary. The state of emergency applies to the whole province and ensures federal, provincial and local res

The entire town of Oliver is on evacuation alert and nearly 200 properties between Oliver and Osoyoos are evacuated as a new wildfire threatens parts of the south Okanagan. The Inkaneep Creek blaze broke out yesterday afternoon and charred seven square kilometres of bush within hours, prompting evacuation orders from both the Osoyoos Indian Band and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen. The regional district has also issued a state of local emergency covering Oliver and the evacuated areas and ``strongly advises'' residents currently on alert to be ready to leave on very short notice

Evacuation orders have been lifted for all but one building in Kelowna, B.C., as crews have dismantled what remained of a crane that collapsed, killing five people. A statement issued by Central Okanagan Emergency Operations says residents and businesses at six addresses can return. It says site engineers and utility inspectors have completed infrastructure and safety inspections but property owners are urged to do their own checks to ensure customers and residents are safe as they go back. The statement says another building directly across the lane from the construction site where the crane

First Nations with former Indian Residential School and Indian Hospital sites in or near their communities can now access the B.C. residential school response fund, with the added support of two newly appointed First Nations liaisons."I acknowledge the trauma that Indigenous peoples continue to experience as a result of the colonial legacy of residential schools, and I grieve with the families and communities as we grapple with recent findings and the findings yet to come," said Murray Rankin, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. "We know it's going to take time, technical reso

The RCMP says it has notified the Independent Investigations Office of BC after someone was taken to hospital with a dog bite. The Mounties say police received a report of a person yelling and screaming for days on Quadra Island Sunday. They say the incident occurred when responding officers encountered someone who appeared to be holding a weapon and refused to leave a trailer. RCMP say the person suffered a dog bite after a police service dog was deployed and received first aid at the scene before being transported to hospital.

British Columbia is expected to name the newly appointment First Nations liaisons who are supporting its residential school response. Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Murray Rankin is scheduled to introduce the liaisons and provide more details on the province's 12-million-dollar residential schools response fund early this afternoon.The government has previously said the fund will support investigative work at former residential school sites and fund programs that support those experiencing trauma following the discovery of remains.Several First Nations in B-C and Saskatchewan

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 156 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 148,487 cases in the province:July 16-17: 56 new casesJuly 17-18: 60 new casesJuly 18-19: 40 new casesThere are currently 653 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,062 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 49 individuals are currently in hospital and 12 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the last 72 hours, two new deaths have been reported in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions, for an overall total of

Cooler weather cut the number of new wildfire starts over the weekend across BC, but the BC Wildfire Service says 300 blazes are still burning and 37 of them are either highly visible or a direct threat to lives and property. The wildfire service says three new wildfires have been sparked in the last two days. It says the wildfire danger remains high to extreme across most of southern BC, but rain has cut the risk to moderate, or even lower, across much of the northern half of the province. The chance of showers remains in the forecast for many northern and central regions, but Environment Ca

Flood waters remain very high in Yukon but after days of sandbagging, residents around Lake Laberge and the Southern Lakes are finally getting some positive news. Flood warnings are posted for those regions but a statement from Yukon's Emergency Measures Organization says water levels are dropping. It says levels of Bennett, Tagish and March lakes are still six to 15 centimetres above record water levels in 2007, but are dropping slowly, while the level of Lake Laberge has fallen 1.5 centimetres in the last 24 hours, and is now at 42 centimetres above 2007 levels. One property on Lake Laberge