The wildfire situation in British Columbia remains fluid as nearly 300 fires are blazing, but even though drought conditions persist in the southern half of the province and fire risk is still extreme, there are some small signs of improvement. Evacuation alerts covering the Resort Municipality of Sun Peaks and several surrounding areas north of Kamloops have been lifted as crews work to contain a nine-square kilometre blaze. Elsewhere, an evacuation order posted earlier this week in southeastern B.C. for nearly 200 properties along the Slocan River has been downgraded to an alert for most re

Homicide investigators hope the fifth anniversary of a murder in Surrey will jog some memories and lead to clues that could crack the case. 28 year old Jatinder ``Michael'' Sandhu died of gunshot wounds on July 23, 2016, when he and a friend were targeted in what police believe was an attack linked to the ongoing gang conflict in Metro Vancouver. But police also believe Sandhu and his companion, who survived, may not have been the intended targets. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is appealing for witnesses to come forward, even if they believe their tip is unimportant or may have a

The Conservation Officer Service says it is investigating a case involving another aggressive coyote in Vancouver's Stanley Park. A statement posted on social media says a woman suffered minor injuries when she was bitten on the leg while jogging along the seawall on Wednesday night. It's the latest in a series involving confrontations between humans and coyotes in the park. A toddler needed treatment in hospital after being bitten earlier this month when a coyote pounced as a group of people walked in the park at around dusk. The service says officers plan to patrol Stanley Park for the next

Crews responding to a wildfire made a welcome discovery in the rugged backcountry of Garibaldi Provincial Park, north of Vancouver. A statement from Squamish RCMP says a hiker missing in the park for two weeks has been found safe on Thursday. The search for 33-year-old Daniel Ring began July 9. Police say he had been dropped off in the park two days earlier for a solo trek, but was reported overdue when he failed to meet up, as planned. The statement from RCMP says ``there was literal cheer'' in the detachment when members of Coastal Fire reported they had spotted Ring as they helicoptered ov

B.C. is reporting 89 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 148,730 cases in the province.There are currently 781 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,178 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, 53 individuals are currently in hospital and 15 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 1,763. The Province has admin

The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Wednesday, July 21, 2021.Fires:Wildfires currently burning in B.C.: 277Since April 1, 2021:1,168 wildfires338,897 hectares burnedActive fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 44Coastal: eightKamloops: 102Northwest: fourPrince George: 58Southeast: 61Crews and equipment:Firefighters and other personnel currently fighting the fires: 3,123 (total, includes out-of-province and aerial support)Out-of-province firefighters: 64Helicopters and planes supporting ground crews: 178Evacuations:Evacuati

Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, and Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education, have released the following statement for the National Summit on Islamophobia, hosted by the Government of Canada on Thursday, July 22, 2021:"Over the past year, we’ve seen a significant increase in hateful attacks against Muslims across Canada. In June, the cowardly attack in London, Ontario shocked the country, taking the lives of four members of the community and leaving a son without a family."In B.C., we’ve also seen a rise in anti-Muslim comments on social media, women at

The latest wildfire evacuation order in BC is in the Shuswap where the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District says 39 people were ordered out of an area near Seymour Arm on the northern edge of Shuswap Lake early this morning. The tiny rural community of Seymour Arm remains on evacuation alert, threatened by the 11-square kilometre Hunakwa Lake fire. This morning's evacuation adds to the several residents ordered out yesterday north of Lillooet, north of Kamloops and in the Slocan and Lower Arrow Lakes regions of the Kootenays. They come as the BC Wildfire Service warns strong winds will complica

At approximately 8:00 pm on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 the AbbyPD responded to an arson on the south side of Central Heights church at 1661 McCallum Rd. Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service attended the scene and extinguished the fire.Patrol members reviewed CCTV and the suspect is described as a dark-skinned male, average build, approximately 30-40 years old, 5’8-5’10, wearing a grey baseball hat, a bright yellow rain jacket, white muscle shirt, blue/green shorts with a pattern, black and white shoes, and carrying a dark brown or black backpack.At the time of the fire, the church was closed and u