Four unoccupied homes have been badly damaged after an early morning fire in Burnaby.
Fire officials say that the homes were slated for demolition.
Assistant Fire Chief Gavin Summers says it was raised to a third alarm fire because of the large area that firefighters needed to cover.
Summers says they needed 42 firefighters and 11 trucks to knock down the blaze.
A shift in weather could cut the smoke and the weather office says showers are likely across the lower quarter of the province on Friday, possibly bringing as much as 10 millimetres of rain to the Squamish, Sechelt, Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions before weekend sun and heat return.
Adrian Dix said Wednesday the ongoing patient and staffing issues at Surrey Memorial Hospital have created a stressful atmosphere, prompting the government to implement an immediate and long-term expansion plan in an attempt to ease tensions.
A 22-year-old man who was wanted by R-C-M-P in Surrey has been arrested. Mounties say Kwabena Bosiako was taken into custody this morning in New Westminster.
Police are asking for the public's help in finding a suspect who seriously injured an 85-year-old man in an unprovoked assault in Coquitlam. The Mounties say the suspect dropped the leashes and the dogs ran toward the victim before the suspect approached the man and punched him in the face.
The B.C. Wildfire Service says heavy equipment, helicopters and crews are attacking what is believed to be a human-caused fire. The wildfire service is reporting more than 80 active fires in British Columbia.
The crash on Highway 3 last Wednesday involved three vehicles, but police say those who died were all in a Chevrolet Suburban. RCMP say the collision analysis and reconstruction service is still investigating the crash.