The director of fire centre operations for the BC wildfire service says this week's heat is expected to contribute to ``severe burning conditions'' in BC's southern half. Rob Schweitzer's crews will be watching out for lighting this weekend, though next week could bring a measure of relief with cooler temperatures and some rain. There were 62 evacuation orders covering more than 3,400 properties at the province's latest count, with close to 17,700 more on alert. In response to the fires, Interior Health says two mobile alternative care sites being set up in the Okanagan ``out of an abundance

Federal officials are warning that Canada could be on the brink of a fourth wave of COVID-19 driven by the highly contagious Delta variant if the country opens too fast before enough people have been vaccinated. Canada's chief public health officer says long-term forecasts indicate that a hasty approach to reopening could portend a sharp resurgence of the virus by the end of the summer. Dr. Theresa Tam says the new modelling underscores the need to exercise caution in lifting public health measures as early signs of epidemic growth emerge in some areas. Tam says officials expect that the Delta

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is accusing the Trudeau government of not doing enough to help bring Afghans who helped Canadian soldiers and embassy staff to Canada.The email address where interpreters and others were told to send their application forms under an urgent Canadian resettlement plan crashed yesterday.A government spokesman says the issue was immediately resolved and that the mailbox remains active and operational.Andrew Rusk of the group Not Left Behind says the incident added to the pandemonium for more than 600 families whose lives are on the line as the Taliban seizes more

India reported 44,230 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the daily positivity rate at 2.44 per cent, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday. With these new cases, the active tally has climbed to 4,05,155 and constitutes 1.28 per cent of total cases. The country's cumulative COVID-19 tally has reached 3,15,72,344.With 42,360 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the overall recoveries in the county have reached 3,07,43,972. The recovery rate now stands at 97.38 per cent.A total of 4,23,217 deaths have been reported so far out of which 555 deaths were reported in the la

B.C. is reporting 204 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 149,648 cases in the province.There are 1,055 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,810 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, 51 individuals are in hospital and 20 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 1,771.Since December 2020, the Province has adm

Canada has 10 medals at the Tokyo Olympics after winning its first rowing medal of the Games. Victoria's Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens of Surrey, B-C, took home bronze in the women's pair. The 2018 world champions finished behind New Zealand and Russia. All of Canada's medals so far have been won by women. --- Penny Oleksiak failed to set a record for most medals won by a Canadian Olympian, at least for now. Oleksiak and the Canadians finished fourth in the 200-metre freestyle relay despite setting a national record. The 21-year-old gets another shot at the individual medal record Frid

On July 24, 2021, at approximately 4:20 a.m., New Westminster Police Department (NWPD) responded to a call of an un-responsive infant in the 1300 block of 5th Avenue in New Westminster. NWPD completed an assessment and determined suspicious circumstances around the death. IHIT was called in to investigate. IHIT investigators are working closely with our partners at the New Westminster Police Department, BC Coroners Service, and the NWPD Forensic Identification Section. Homicide detectives are speaking with the family and friends to ascertain the specifics around what happened. Local support se

This Friday, TransLink is teaming up with Fraser Health and BC Ferries to bring the Mobile Vaccine Bus to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal ahead of the B.C. Day long-weekend. Ferry passengers eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine can hop on the Mobile Vaccine Bus to receive their first or second dose before getting on the ferry to continue their journey. Two brightly coloured and air-conditioned transit buses will be stationed at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal to provide same-day COVID-19 immunizations to eligible people in a cool and comfortable location. Passengers ages 12 and over are welcome, inclu

Surrey RCMP Robbery Unit is requesting the public’s assistance with identifying a robbery suspect.On July 19, 2021, just prior to 6:00pm, Surrey RCMP responded to the report of a bank robbery in the 17700 block of 64th Avenue, Surrey.The lone suspect is described as a Caucasian man, 30-40 years old, wearing a blue bandanna, sunglasses, surgical mask, and blue shirt on top of a dark blue long sleeve (photo of suspect attached).Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502, or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-8477