The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.Fires:Since April 1, 2021:1,513 wildfires805,500 hectaresCurrently burning: 264Active fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 33Coastal: 20Kamloops: 84Northwest: 5Prince George: 58Southeast: 64Resources:Total personnel: 3,627Contract firefighters: 1,185Out-of-province personnel: 519Aircraft (rotary and fixed-wing): 209Evacuations:Evacuation orders: 86 (+12)Evacuation alerts: 125 (+6)Properties:Number of properties on order: 8,262 (+1,655)Number of properties on alert:

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 1,434 new cases of COVID-19, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 156,513 cases in the province:Aug. 13-14: 532 new casesAug. 14-15: 441 new casesAug. 15-16: 461 new casesThere are 5,090 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 149,553 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 104 individuals are in hospital and 47 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 72 hours, one new death (Fraser Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 1,780.There are 10 acti

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says Canada plans to send military aircraft back into Afghanistan to evacuate Canada-connected Afghans. But Trudeau says the airport in the capital, Kabul, must be secured to combat the chaos that currently exists there. Trudeau says Canadian military aircraft are on standby in Kuwait, waiting until the Kabul airport can be secured so they can extract Afghan citizens who helped the Canadian mission there. Afghans have been flocking to the Kabul airport, desperately trying to get out of the country. Several people are reported to have been killed as they frantical

The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021.Fires:Since April 1, 2021:1,511 wildfires766,709 hectaresCurrently burning: 268Active fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 32Coastal: 21Kamloops: 86Northwest: 5Prince George: 60Southeast: 64Resources:Total personnel: 3,701Contract firefighters: 1,236Out-of-province personnel: 480Aircraft (rotary and fixed-wing): 213Evacuations:Evacuation orders: 74 (+13)Evacuation alerts: 119 (-1)Properties:Number of properties on order: 6,607 (+717)Number of properties on alert: 1

B.C. is reporting 717 new cases of COVID-19, including 11 epi-linked cases, for a total of 155,079 cases in the province.There are 4,277 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 148,964 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 82 individuals are in hospital and 39 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.The new/active cases include:140 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 821101 new cases in Vancouver Coastal HealthTotal active cases: 593376 new cases in Interior HealthTotal active cases: 2,44660 new cases in Nort

The Canadian government is facing urgent calls to speed up its effort to save hundreds of former Afghan interpreters and their families as Western countries step up plans to evacuate Afghanistan after 20 years of war. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was asked if Canada has already shut down its embassy in Kabul, but she would not answer, citing operational security concerns. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says and diplomats and now find themselves in danger as the Taliban sweeps the country. Freeland says the government's priority is ``supporting the brave Afghans who worked f

B.C. is reporting 513 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 154,362 cases in the province.There are 3,834 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 148,702 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 81 individuals are in hospital and 33 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the past 24 hours, one new death (Interior Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 1,779.There are eight active outbreaks in:long-term care: Holyrood Manor, Kin Village West Court, Evergreen Baptist Care Soc

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is intending to visit Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Sunday and ask her to dissolve Parliament, triggering an election. The expectation is that the election would take place Sept. 20. The plan was confirmed by a senior Liberal Party of Canada source, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss these matters publicly. There has been speculation about a coming election for months, but the exact timing has been up in the air given the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Canad

The COVID-19 infection rate in British Columbia has leaped to 536, a figure not seen since mid-May. A Health Ministry statement says there are more than 3,500 active cases in the province and more than half of those are in the Interior Health region. New restrictions were introduced last week by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry in the central Okanagan region as case counts multiplied, spurred by the more contagious Delta variant. There has been one more death and outbreaks are increasing in B.C.'s long-term care sector, with the discovery of COVID-19 in eight care homes around the p