As COVID cases rebound in BC, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is urging people to take advantage of ``walk-in Wednesday.'' Dr. Henry says anyone can walk into clinics set up across the province today to update their vaccinations or get their first shot. Dr. Henry says she knows some people have been displaced by wildfires or have had difficulties accessing vaccinations and now is the time to get a shot, especially as cases increase in the Interior. BC reported 742 new cases over a four-day period on Tuesday. The vaccination rate has slowed with 81.4 per cent of those eligible getti

Victoria police are asking for the public's help to locate a distinctive stolen urn. Police say they were called to a home to investigate a report of a break and enter and theft of the urn with an Indigenous artistic design carved on the exterior. The red and black wooden box contains a family member's remains. Police say other valuables at the residence were left untouched. Victoria police on Twitter: Please share & help us locate an urn containing a loved one's remains, stolen in a residential B&E over the weekend. The urn is made of wood, with Indigenous carving and artistic design

Saanich Police say a traffic stop resulted in the seizure of replica guns, drugs and the arrest of two people. Police say patrol officers pulled over a suspicious vehicle on the Patricia Bay Highway and found 10 replica handguns. They also seized drugs believed to be fentanyl, methamphetamine and psilocybin. Saanich Police says a man and woman known to police were arrested at the scene.

Over a four-day period, B.C. is reporting 742 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 150,631 cases in the province:July 30-31: 160 new casesJuly 31-Aug. 1: 196 new casesAug. 1-2: 185 new casesAug. 2-3: 201 new casesThere are 1,544 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 147,285 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 53 individuals are in hospital and 19 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 96 hours, one new death (Vancouver Coastal Health) has been reported, for an overall t

The New Westminster Police Department is warning of a recent scam that is using call spoofing technology to make it appear as if fraudulent calls are coming from the New Westminster Police Department.Some people receiving these calls say they were told by someone claiming to be a police officer that packages for them have been seized at the Canada USA border, and that there was a warrant issued for their arrest."They are using this as a tactic to solicit personal information from unsuspecting people," Stated Sergeant Kumar. "If you receive one of these calls block their number and hang up."If

The Surrey Policing Transition Trilateral Committee (SPTTC) has approved an initial deployment date for a group of Surrey Police Service (SPS) officers to be operationally deployed beginning on, or before, November 30, 2021. A phased, integrated transition process has been agreed between the SPTTC partners (Public Safety Canada, Province of BC, and City of Surrey) and will be implemented with the first 50 SPS officers assuming operational policing duties this fall. These officers will be assigned to positions within the RCMP Municipal Police Unit in Surrey. "This is an exciting time for the Su

The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021.For real-time updates on evacuation alerts and orders, visit: https://twitter.com/EmergencyInfoBCFor the latest wildfire information, visit: www.bcwildfire.caFires:Wildfires burning in B.C.: 250Since April 1, 2021:1,308 wildfires555,904 hectares of area burnedActive fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 43Coastal: 15Kamloops: 75Northwest: 6Prince George: 51Southeast: 60Resources:Firefighters and other personnel fighting the fires: 3,245Out-of-province firefighters: 3

A sixth candidate has entered BC's Liberal leadership contest. Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield says she wants to bring her leadership success as an entrepreneur to the Liberals. Merrifield was first elected last fall and is currently the Opposition's health critic. Merrifield joins candidates Val Litwin, Michael Lee, Ellis Ross, Kevin Falcon and Gavin Dew in the February 5th race. Renee Merrifield on Twitter: Happy BC Day! I’m looking forward to meeting you in your corner of this beautiful province!

Cooler temperatures are in the forecast for later this week, but a shifting weather pattern could also bring winds and possible thunderstorms to B-C's wildfire zones. Fire information officer Erika Berg says the numbers of fires in B-C have stayed in the 240-245 range over the past week, which is much different than previous weeks where there was a steady buildup of fires. She says fire crews have been holding their own over the past week, but the weather patterns could bring new challenges. Berg says wildfires have burned more than five thousand five hundred square kilometres since April.