Firefighters in Surrey, B.C., had to work quickly to keep an early morning fire from spreading to nearby buildings but they could not save the church where the blaze began. Surrey Fire Service assistant chief Shelley Morris says the St. George Coptic Orthodox Church was engulfed in flames by the time crews arrived at around 3:30 a.m. She says the roof of the church has collapsed and the building was destroyed. Firefighters drenched nearby trees and buildings to ensure embers could not ignite other properties in the dry conditions. Crews were expected to remain at the scene for hours dealing w

Mounties in Surrey are investigating a shooting where they say someone in an SUV fired a gun at a minivan that was stopped at an intersection. RCMP describe the suspect vehicle as a white, newer model Audi Q5, and they say it drove past the victim's red Dodge Caravan late Saturday afternoon. Police say the Audi driver then fired numerous shots into the windshield and passenger side of the minivan before driving off. One person in the minivan suffered minor injuries from broken glass.

B.C. is reporting 45 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 148,331 cases in the province.There are currently 652 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 145,908 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, 60 individuals are currently in hospital and 12 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the past 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,761. BC has administered 6,

There would be few advantages to declaring a provincial state of emergency in the battle against wildfires in British Columbia as the province uses all of its available resources to fight them, Premier John Horgan said Friday. Opposition politicians and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, parts of which were under evacuation orders or alerts, have urged Horgan to declare an emergency. "If there was a state of emergency called today, it would have no impact on resources because they are already in place," Horgan said at a news conference. "We're putting all hands on deck and the state of eme

British Columbia's premier says reopening the border to non-essential travellers from the United States in August would be a ``massive undertaking'' for the province but one it is ready for. John Horgan told a news conference today that he is confident British Columbians will remain safe if the border reopens because of the levels of vaccination in the province. He says the federal and provincial governments are following the advice of top health officials as they navigate the dates around reopening the borders. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the premiers Thursday that as long as vaccinat

Surrey RCMP is investigating several incidents of anti-Muslim graffiti found at several locations in central Newton.There have been multiple incidents of anti-Muslim graffiti reported to Surrey RCMP since July 5, 2021. Investigators believe these incidents are connected, and may be linked to the same person or group of people.The most recent incident was reported to Surrey RCMP on July 14, 2021. Members of the public reported graffiti on a refuse bin, on business property, and on a utility pole near a Mosque in the area of 72 Avenue and King George Boulevard."These types of incidents have a si

Vancouver Police are seeking help from the public to find two men currently wanted Canada-wide for conspiracy to commit murder, possession of stolen property and firearm charges. "Both of these men are believed to be associated to the Metro Vancouver gang conflict," says Constable Tania Visintin. "The charges stem from Taskforce Tourniquet, a joint forces operation led by the Vancouver Police that targeted four major violent crime groups in Metro Vancouver."Romano Martodihardjo, 47, has a medium-coloured complexion, is five feet five inches and about 170 pounds. He has short shaved hair and br

Vancouver Police have identified the victim of the year’s tenth homicide as Luis Rosas Saenz.The 24-year-old was found on the street near South West Marine Drive and West 57th Avenue on July 10 just after 6:30 a.m. suffering from a stab wound. He was taken to hospital where he later died from his injuries."Investigators believe that a number of people were driving down the road at the time of the offence," says Constable Tania Visintin, VPD. "We need anyone with dash cam footage to call our investigators as soon as possible."VPD homicide detectives continue to investigate. Anyone with inform

Vancouver Coastal Health is taking its vaccine program to two popular summer destinations to make getting immunized more convenient. A drop-in clinic will be set up at the Trout Lake farmers market in Vancouver tomorrow, and a second clinic will be at North Vancouver's Shipyards district from July 19th to 23rd. Those aged 12 and up will be given priority at each clinic and if capacity allows, second doses will also be available for those who received their first shot at least seven weeks ago. People attending summer immunization clinics are reminded to take precautions from the heat by wearin